Feedback from idea (3)

After presenting one of my ideas to my class and teacher i gathered some useful feedback in how to improve or realistically develop  my intentions for an opening sequence.

My classmates really liked how it began fairly happily and innocently with hints of a sad film but then cuts to a disturbing, messed up image of a graphically displayed dead body. 

They questioned how I would realistically display the body, as a decomposing body isn't easy to come across. It would be incredibly hard to show someone who's dead when they could just be asleep or the makeup (blood, and pale makeup) could look naff. My classmates argued the use of well-done makeup and clever camera positioning however, i understood what my teacher was saying. Secondly, my teacher cleverly stated that what the man is doing in my scene means that 90% of it will be filming someone making something. 

To improve, I either pursue that and experiment with the dead body- see whether it looks real or make it so that the girl is alive and tied down with bodies around her and she's almost the next victim. Or towards the idea that he is mentally disturbed due to what he's been through and we see this through what he's making. He suggested he makes a cup of tea to begin with but then say he makes a sandwich, all the foods are moldy and gone off yet he still makes it. buttering bread, off milk, because he's just lost it.

If i followed it through, detail would be key (photo frame etc)

IDEA 3- thriller/horror

 

IDEA 2- opening thriller/drama

 

IDEA 1- horror opening :)

 Horror opening:

dunkirk- war opening scene

From the way it’s filmed behind the soldiers we immediately wonder where they’re going. The wide angled shot displays the short number of men walking together and makes us question how and why they find themselves wandering the empty streets of Dunkirk. The beautiful image of the paper/debris falling around them seems quite elegant and we then appreciate the cinematography of the scene. We get a description of the situation they're in, in intervals they bring up more writing saying “trapped at Dunkirk, they await their fate” which foreshadows the upheaval to come .The sudden attack of gun shots then grabs our attention as we watch the men fall one by one. We are eager to see who makes it out alive. As the camera follows the soldier who did, we’re now set on him staying alive, we’re relieved to see that after a fair amount of running, they're not an enemy.

Given the title of the film we can guess it's set in Dunkirk. Those who know their history would know the true story of Dunkirk and that it was set in 1940 during the second World War. They walk around the empty streets and after the shooting the soldier then finds himself on a beach. 

The tone begins quite peacefully, with each man looking relaxed- they look as though they’re lost or awaiting orders. One of them is drinking water out of a hose and the other is picking up a flyer with ‘we surround you’ on it, so we feel slightly alarmed as we guess it’s aimed at them. The tone then switches to an intense, fast moving sequence where the men are then vulnerable. The war genre is made clear from the beginning as it’s a historical event we know took place in Dunkirk. The costumes- army combat uniform also clearly show us the genre. 

What connotations show us it’s a war film:

• The short camera duration when he’s running and his friends are getting shot

• The tracking camera movement when he runs towards the french base is very war film-like

• When the boys get shot the camera moves past them not taking much notice of the lives just lost which tells us that they’re used to people dying too frequently as it’s war.

• The sound effects of the gun shots

• 
  It’s very quiet at the beginning, only the ambient sounds of picking up helmets, the paper sound of the flyers 

• No soundtrack, makes it very realistic - reminds us it’s a true story

• Their costumes 

We don't get to know much about the characters since they die so soon, however the one that makes it over that gate seems as though he’s going to play a big part in the movie. He looks young and afraid, as most boys were as young as 15 in WWII. We watch him struggle under pressure with his gun, as if fear has taken over him and he decides to run. He seems like he is fit and fast so I'm guessing he uses that to his advantage. As he stands before the beach he looks vulnerable again. I wonder if in the rest of the movie we will watch his character develop and become a great soldier. The storyline seems obvious as we know the story of Dunkirk, however I'm guessing they will go into depth on the characters and show us different people's side of the story and show us things that we had no idea about before.

 I believe it's successfully conveyed the War genre and began the movie in an engaging, interesting format making us want to watch more. I haven’t seen the movie and I look forward to seeing how they display the happenings at Dunkirk.

Mission impossible - action opening scene

 

The second mission impossible of the franchise, directed by John Woo, begins with a man (Tom Cruise) hanging off a cliff that he's climbing. Tom Cruise also produced this movie as well as starring in it. It creates tension in a number of ways and successfully gives the impression you're watching an action/ adventure movie.

A quick zoom in hooks us in right away, while it establishes where our main character is, it also amplifies how huge the scale of this setting is. I believe it’s mainly engaging because of how it shocks us. This man has no harness, no ropes, no safety ties- just a bag of chalk! He is climbing completely free hand (which the idea of is terrifying to me). The slow motion jumps, that seem impossible from the angle it’s shot at, make our stomachs turn. The soundtrack gets louder as he falls which adds to the jaw dropping effect. When the man comes in the helicopter we question if he’s an enemy or someone with a gun about to shoot him, the bomb-like package he shoots then reveals a pair of sunglasses so we are then rest assured. What also engages the audience, especially one of the year 2000 (when it was released) is the high tech screen edited imagery that tells us he’s likely an agent. 

The date is unclear from the opening, we know it’s not old fashioned from the technology they use. It’s most likely present day although because it was filmed around 20 years ago I wouldn't label it as a modern movie. It’s set on a cliff in what looks like a desert somewhere very remote. They mention later in the dialogue that he was ‘on holiday’ so he seems as though he’s alone which makes us more scared for him. It looks like a hot country and as th4e camera pans around him using fades we see a canyon behind him, you can assume he’s very high up.

The genre is action and we already get shots of  him in action on this cliff jumping from here to there within the first minute. Once it’s revealed to us he is working for some secret agent branch, we then assume there will be a lot more action scenes to come like; fight scenes, guns, knives, the whole lot. Even from the title we can gather he’ll go on a mission (probably impossible) and we will be following him as he does. 

The connotations that show us it’s an action film:

• The different angles; high, low, level

• 
  Changes of motion (slow)

• The Soundtrack is quiet and seems overpowered by the wind, the percussion in the music adds tension (like when he falls)

• 
  The change in music to the fanfare (mission impossible music) tells us the action is about to start

• The editing of quick camera cuts on each angle exaggerate the height he’s at 

• His costume looks very casual and not something you’d likely wear when climbing THAT

• His facial expressions show a hint of cockyness to him and his smoulder is quite the stereotypical one for agent like Mr Cruise himself- the look of ‘i’ve got it all under control’ which is the type of character we associate with an action movie

His character is clearly fearless, brave and incredibly strong. We can later see he is not just a climber but a spy or secret agent. The storyline is likely to follow a huge, impossible mission he takes on- given to us in the title. There’s likely to be a love interest as there always is in these James Bond esk movies. I think the beginning is also to show how skilled (the way he's climbing this cliff looks gravitationally undoable to me) so we have some hope for the ‘impossible’ mission and it’s a movie worth a watch.

In my opinion it has successfully displayed the action based theme in this opening sequence. Foreshadowing his big mission to come, I believe this is a movie I'd want to watch. It gets you excited for the lengths they’d go to in the action scenes, seeing as the first one is on a cliff, what else will they do?

Little Women- drama opening scene

 

This movie is a modern adaptation of a novel written by Louisa Alcott. The 2019 coming of age period drama was written and directed by Greta Gerwig. i will be identifying what features they use to convey the genre and techniques used to draw you in from the opening sequence.

The long shot of the woman in the dress from behind, I found intriguing. By the way she walks with intent through this workplace surrounded by men, she already shows a feminist act within the first  17  seconds. It is clear she wants to get her book published (although she says it’s her “friend’s”)  we can already learn a lot about her character which intentionally grips us into wanting to know more about her and how she got to this point in her life. We are shocked by his reaction to her story, we sympathize with the feeling of injustice and discrimination to the lack of respect he shows due to her gender, would he have reacted differently if it were a man?

This period drama opens, we can guess it’s set in the late 1800’s. The scene takes place in an office, in America (old american accents). We can assume the era due to props like; ink pens, old money, their costumes, domination of men in the workplace, candles instead of lights, and in the dialogue “the country’s  just been through a war”. The scene then moves to her running through the streets with joy and we see men with bowler and top hats too.

The tone begins quite seriously, it’s calm yet we can see  our main character (most likely) is very nervous through her mannerisms. The silences hint at the drama genre, there is no soundtrack yet, just ambient sound of the workplace, which helps us focus on their conversation and emotions in the scene. · 

There’s a close up on her hands that are dirty which we connote with someone who doesn’t come from wealth as her hands are dirty, it could also mean she doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty - she’s hardworking. The lack of music to then a happy, uplifting soundtrack to accompany her as she runs down the street mimics her emotions which is a classic drama genre technique. There’s not much colour in the scene or only dull and dark colours which could suggest a drama filled film.

She is ambitious, hardworking, pretentious, also hesitant to be confident as he reads her book. We know she is a writer. We quickly side with her as she is likely to be the protagonist/feminist of the film and it means we’re interested in her story. From his character in this scene, he seems uptight and close minded we’re made to not like his character on purpose.

 I doubt he will have little importance and we can guess the storyline will follow her life, not his, due to her kind character with more to explore than his. We will possibly find out why she became a writer or what she writes about. Maybe her life as a woman, struggling to become successful in her line of work because of the equality crisis. I believe the writers have successfully presented this drama opening, however, I could expect more emotional and tragic scenes to come later in the movie. They have set up the narrative nicely and created a basis to what could be an amazing film.