Research and Planning

ANALYSIS OF OPENING SCENES

As part of our Research and Planning we was given 4 films to analyse and one of our choice. The 4 we were given: 'Children of Men', 'Jaws', 'Panic Room' and 'Se7en' and the one of our choice was 'Vertigo' much like a few other students.

Children of Men

Representation

The scene is being represented in London, which according to news reports on the television, Britain is the only place left on earth that doesn’t seem to be in total havoc and is somehow under a sense of control. This would be a negative representation on how the world has ended up in 2027. The anti-hero in the scene seems to be a man in his early 30’s, he seems to be an interpretation of ‘the average man’ and doesn’t seem to have any ‘Hero’ like qualities.

 Women are represented in a way that makes them seem distort and uneasy, the death of this ‘Baby Diego’ has obviously upset everyone in the scene to a degree of it being everywhere news related and because of this ‘world fertility’ women are really upset that now the youngest man (a symbol of the only hope in children yet) is now dead and it is their fault. This is a futuristic representation of the city of London in 2027 where after some catastrophic events have occurred people are now needlessly dying.  The world is represented as an abandoned city where bombs and other acts of terrorism are happening worldwide.  The streets are clogged with fumes and litter, backed up by police reinforcements.  It is also extremely crowded with people everywhere going about their jobs and lives amongst the violence.

The future is represented as a complete mess and that everything and everyone around is at it’s limit, nothing else can be brought back so they have to saver everything they have.

The only groups that are really seen in this 4 minute clip are the coffee shop at the start of the scene and the work place he heads back to after the  explosion and the title is shown. In both, everyone seems to be mesmerized by any oncoming new reports about the death of Baby Diego.

Lighting

The very start of the scene is completely black with some diegetic dialogue coming from a television screen but then leads onto a low lit coffee shop before leading outside into a gloomy London street.

As an audience it leads me to notice that the scene is set in a gloomy London that is obviously run down and somehow in trouble, before anything plot related is even explained.

Camera Work
The camera work is very clever in the opening scene, by making it a 1:56 minute long take you get to see and follow the protagonist down the street until the camera is turned to see an explosion which leads to the opening title screen.
My expectations of a feature film are pretty well spoken for in this scene, it keeps you in the dark, it makes sure that it gives you the bare minimum of the information needed and at the same time still makes me want to know more.

Editing

The editing in this scene is clever, using 1 shot takes that run for a long time, using quick shot reverse shot techniques when swapping dialogue and even tracking shots that cut onto the next scene. The pace of the scene is easily changed using the various editing techniques i discussed by taking a slow walk to a paced look on London and what seem to be immigrants stuck inside cages. As a whole the scene does tend to stay at quite a slow pace to help the viewer take in all the subtle information all around, buildings news reports, people talking etc.
Sound

The sound is almost all diegetic because the whole scene is just feeding the viewer information through dialogue and people watching new reports on the television.

These choices where made by the directors so that anyone watching will have nothing but information that they want the viewer to decipher.

Genre

Futuristic Thriller, Adventure, Mystery, maybe Drama.
Narrative

The narrative structure of this scene shows an overview of how and what life has become after this ‘world infertility’ has struck.

I think it is defiantly how an opening sequence to a film should be. as little information as possible but with enough to keep you watching the film.
Audiences

I feel that all audiences are targeted for this film, anyone that is over the age of 15 will know and understand exactly what is going on. It is directed to anyone that is after a film related to adventure and mystery and being set in the future also attracts others in as well.
Values and Ideologies 

The sort of messages that this scene is giving the viewer is that the world is coming to an end, everyone is infertile and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of recovery.

Jaws

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Starts with a P.O.V from the shark itself.

Camp fire with a medium shot of loads of people around it, while the camera slowly dollies along until it stops at a guy staring into a girls eyes, where it then does a shot reverse shot between he two of them. Then onwards to a Tracking shot of the two teenagers running along the beach banks and sand dunes after each other. 
Sound

Scene starts with a radar type of noise and then leads onto the ‘Jaws theme tune’ which is used to create a great deal of suspense for the viewer who is watching as the music gradually gets louder and louder.

Then the scene cuts to a beach fire and a harmonica playing.

The music the slowly fades back into the jaws theme to show the viewer that the shark has come back. Then screaming to show her fear and pain, then silence to prove that she is dead.
Editing
Starts on darkness with fading credits, then a cut to a reef which has a long P.O.V shot and then adds a title ‘JAWS’

Cuts to beach and fire, switches between beach sounds and dialogue. Cuts to ocean and girl then back to beach with drunk young guy. 

Mise en Scene

Reef, ocean, Camp fire, lots of people, sandy beach, grassy hills, wooden fences, young people, girl and boy, taking cloths off, ocean boy. 

Characters

People round the camp fire. (extras)

Young guy and Young girl.

Locations

The Sea. Sandy beach.

Genre

Thriller, action, adventure.

Jaws Analysis (Box Chart)

Description	Analysis
Title Sequence
Music begins very quiet and slow.	This is to build tension for the viewer.
The camera shows the point of view of the shark moving through the weeds.	To get a real sense that there is something ‘on it’s way’.
The music builds up and gets louder and faster.	To scare the viewer, as if the shark is just about to attack.
Opening Scene
There is the sound of a mouth organ being played at the beach party.	To create a relaxed environment as if everything is safe.
There is a large bonfire on the beach.	This is to show a sense of safety and warmth being in a group, so when the 2 teens get further away from it, it gets darker and darker.
The camera pulls back to show a wide shot of the sea. We can hear the noise of the sea in the background.	This helps to show the girl is now to far out into the sea to do anything if anything does happen.

Description	Analysis
Whilst the girl is swimming there is no music.	So that when something does suddenly happen, she is taken by surprise, as is the audience.
The camera shows the shark’s point of view and the music starts.	To shock the viewer and to show that the shark is ‘coming to get her’.
The camera switches between the top and bottom of the water.	This is possibly so they audience can see both sides of the danger.
There is a shot of her legs kicking and the camera slowly zooms in.	This is to show the viewer that the shark is closing in on her position and is about to get her because he knows she’s there.
We do not see the shark.	So it makes the viewer feel that they do not know where and how fast the shark is coming.
There are pauses in the attack, and the camera shows the boy slumped on the beach.	This proves to the audience that the girl getting attacked, truly has no chance of survival.
After the attack there is a sudden silence.	To break up the jumps of the attack, to make the audience slightly more jumpy.
At the end of the scene all we can hear is the sound of the sea.	This shows the audience that the girl is dead and didn’t stand a chance.

Panic Room

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Establishing shot of the city, which is at a long distance, it also shows most of the buildings it then heads around using high angle low angle street views and lots of different panning shots.

Sound

The first half of the opening scene is non diegetic sound, slow paced and slightly dipping and raising in pitch. There is some dialogue exchanged towards the last few seconds of the clip.
Editing

Almost the whole scene consists of cuts between different angles of buildings with different forms of typography covering them using different camera shots, angles and speeds.

Mise en Scene

Cityscape to show that the film is set in a confined space with restrictions and limitations.
Characters

The only characters that come into the scene are at the end of the clip, two women who are walking in the opposite direction to everyone else, this might mean they are heading the wrong way, or choosing the wrong path to follow. From the characters that we have been shown we able to see that it seems to be a female dominated world.  The female on the left is wearing glasses which conceal her identity and also the grey clothes she is wearing suggest a boring persona.  The other character seen is trailing behind looks to be of a lesser status to the other woman. 
Locations

An American city, large buildings and it’s clearly set in autumn, the dead leaves around the city and on top of the cars might be a way of symbolizing the end of something. The location is in New York and is shown by revealing geographical markers such as time square and The Empire State building.  The type of environment is a busy urban one where it is over populated as shown in the pan down shot.
Genre

Also there may be some type of romantic undertone due to stereotypical characters being female main characters.  But this could also be used to lull the audience into a false sense of security in which case it could also be a thriller. Also it is set during the day time and as day usually represents good then it will not likely be a horror.  

Se7en

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

During the first shot we are confronted with the page of a book being opened demonstrating depth-of-field and information such as ‘New line cinema presents.’  Most of the shots used are cuts, and the second shot reveals a menacing pair of drawn hands from a high angle POV, whilst a fans blade creates an eerie shadow across shot.  This is then followed by a series of close-ups of different mechanisms being worked by a decrepit hand at a reasonably fast pace.  There then is a series of close-ups where we see a hand but no face carrying out tasks such as writing and also spilling blood. The camera seems to always be looking at whatever the character in the scene is using, needle and thread, paper, making notes.

Sound

There is no Diegetic sound throughout the opening sequence.

All music is an eerie backing track which slowly picks up in pace, this is to make sure the audience isn’t filled in too much on what is going on. The only noise heard in the opening sequence of Se7en is non-diegetic music which creates a clearly scary theme to match the disturbing imagery being shown.  No dialogue is heard which also adds to the mystery.  The soundtrack also builds as the scene unfolds which builds momentum and tension.
Editing

The whole of this scene only seems to use basic editing, close ups, speeding up a tiny bit and depth of field is also used to show out of focus hands and objects, this might show the viewer that the film is fast paced.
Mise en Scene

Gridded paper, credits (director, music editor etc) Polaroid pictures, maybe to symbolize an old time theme or to relate to the old mans hands. During the opening scene of se7en there is a yellow colour pallet which ads to the old theme of the scene portrayed by the worn out hands.  There is an excessive amount of shots of people which makes the character look extremely paranoid. 
Characters

In the opening sequence of panic room we are only shown and extreme close-up of a hand.  From the hand we can tell that the character is elderly.  Also due to the plasters on his hand he clearly uses dangers tools.  The way that he purposely cuts himself reveals he clearly has some sort of mental health issues. There is only one character in the whole scene and he appears to be an old man. old, worn hands covered in blisters and bandages to show he is a hard worker. 
Locations

Seems to be set in a basement with nothing but a work station and some paper, this maybe to show that the character has been locked away for some reason, myabe for doing something he wasn’t supposed to do. The location seems to be inside due to the table and furniture.  Also the lighting is very dark and sinister which creates an awkward atmosphere.  The inside setting gives the felling of entrapment.   
Genre

From what we have seen in the opening sequence the Genre will clearly be a thriller or a horror.  The opening does not start with an establishing shot but an extreme close-up of a tattered old book under low lighting.  The metallic sounds heard add to the tension as they suggest imprisonment and inhuman sounds.   In the shot where we are shown what looks to be a dead person in a photo, and blood being shed sets us up for a violent genre film.

Vertigo

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Starts with a zoomed in shot of a ladder which dollies out to show a man climbing up it and being followed by two policemen, the first man has obviously done something wrong and is trying to escape the law. Close-up of the bar reveals a city based environment and that we are at great height.  During this scene we are witnessing there are two city cops who are chasing another male.  In the pan shot we are shown how dangerous the situation and the height increases the drama and tension.  The use of a high angle POV shot whilst the policeman hangs from the building, emphasizes the peril he is in and also makes us understand with his situation.  The use of an eye-line shot from the panicked police officer shows his panic for the other officer and tells us he is in danger.
Sound

The scene is accompanied by some fast paced music, most of the scene is non diegetic action music to show the get away. There is some diegetic sounds like when the two policemen are shooting towards the running man, and then some dialogue is used to ask the 2nd policeman to “grab his hand”. The sound techniques used are quite basic but are still efficient.  During the falling scene the policeman looks down and the dramatic sound used increases the panic and worry for characters and audience.

Editing

There is a few cuts to switch between the reactions of the running man and the reaction shots of the two policemen, the rest is cuts to show the pace of the scene or to show a ‘shot reverse shot’ between the hanging policemen and the one trying to help him. The reverse zoom that follows increases the anxiety of both charter and for the audience which created a more dramatic atmosphere.
Mise en Scene

Rooftops, ladders, slippery roof tiles, all used to show a quick escape and to set the nighttime scene that it is wet and gloomy. The suite of the escaping man is white in-contrast to the policeman's black uniforms which symbolizes a difference in motifs and goals.  As the scene is set at night and due to the fact that bad is linked to night it sets a theme to the play.  The gun in the police’s possession reveals that they have the most power in this situation and that they are in charge.  As the hat falls from the mans head this symbolizes how the power has decimated from him and is now helpless.    

Characters

There are three characters in the scene, two of which are policemen and the other is a man who seems to be running away from them. The character in white symbolizes good despite the fact he is running from the police. On the other hand the polices black uniform symbolizes bad.

Locations

The location is an urban environment extremely high above the ground.  This could be used to increase the tension of the scene, American city, maybe new york, roof tops.

Genre

Seems to be an action and adventure film maybe a thriller mystery because the 2 policemen seem to end up dying but due to the use of weapons and violent deaths it will most likely be a crime/ thriller genre.

The Open Window - Script

Mr. Nuttel walks up to the estate. Happy to see a friendly face waiting for him. He steps inside through the large doors and is escorted to a chair in a dinning room.

Vera:  My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel, in the meantime you must try and put up with me.

Framton: (Awkwardly) Umm, you look pretty… did your aunt help you with how you look...? When will Mrs. Sappleton be down to present me with the letter of introduction?

Vera: (completely off subject) Do you know many people round here?

Framton: (Slight silence) hardly a soul, my sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here now.

Vera: (Pressingly) so you know nothing about my aunt?

Framton: Only her name and address. After looking around, Framton wondered if Mrs. Sappleton was in the married of widowed state as the room had a ‘masculine habitation’.

Vera: (Distressed) Her great tragedy happened just three years ago, that would be since your sisters time.

Framton: (Confused and shocked) her tragedy?

Vera: You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon. Pointing to a large open French window that leads onto the lawn.

Framton: It’s quite warm for the time of the year, I don’t understand how the window has anything to do with this tragedy?

Vera: (Starts to narrate a short story) out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their days shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all engulfed in a treacherous section of the bog. It had been a dreadfully wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it. (Calms down and starts to talk normally) Poor aunt always thinks they will come back some day, that and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in that window just as they used to do. That is why the Window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear ant, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing ‘Bertie, why do you bound?’ as he always did to tease her, because she said it got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will walk back in through that window. (She shudders) Framton utters a slight sigh of relief when Mrs. Sappleton bustles into the room with apologies for being late in making an appearance.

Mrs. Sappleton: (Briskly) I hope you don’t mind the window being open? My husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, they always come in this way. They’ve been out for a snipe in the marshes today, so they’ll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you men-folk, isn’t it?

Watching Mrs. Sappleton talk about her three dead family members puts Framton on the edge of his seat. To Framton it was truly horrible. He tried desperately to change to a less ghastly topic.

Framton: (Sharply) The doctors agree in ordering me a complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercises.

Mrs. Sappleton: No? Said in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention – but not to what Framton was saying. Here they are at last! Just in time for tea, and don’t they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes!

Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look at the intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with a dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction to see three figures walking across the lawn in a deepening twilight towards the open window. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: ‘I said Bertie, why do you bound?’

Framton Grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat.

Mr. Sappleton: Here we are, my dear, fairly muddy, but most of it’s dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?

Mrs. Sappleton: (Un-fazed by the situation) A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel, he could only talk about his illness and dashed off without a word of goodbye or apology when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost.

Vera: (talking with a calm state of mind) I expect it was probably the spaniel, before you arrive he told me he had a horror of dogs. (Lying) he was once hunted into a cemetery by a pack of pariah dogs, he had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming at the mouths, just above his head. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve.

Romance at short notice was her specialty.

Target Audiences

After looking through the 'Pearl and Dean' website we decided that it was a good place to find and compare target audiences of the same genre.

Pearl and Dean are saying that the main target audience for watching this film is the '15-24' age bracket with 41% of public, another 35% came from the '25-34' bracket. The viewing where spread quite equally between males and females although there was a slightly larger portion of males watching.

Another look at Pearl and Dean shows us that 'Scream 4' also had a big chuck of male viewers (a lot more than 28 weeks later) compared to the female viewers. The biggest age bracket is the '15-24' segment as well along with the '25-35' age bracket, this is probably because teenagers and young adults are most attracted to the 'Thriller' movie genre.

Another Thriller film is 'Drive Angry 3D' which also has a high percentage of the age bracket within the '15-24' section and most of the films gender ratings come from the Male side as only 27% of females where viewers.

Preliminary Screenplay

The Preliminary Task

by

Yung Nguyen, Nathan Stanyon and James Little

Int. inside a building

NATHAN walks down the corridor towards the interrogation room. He opens the door and the camera goes to a small POV shot as he walks straight towards the table, opposite of the table shows a convicted criminal YUNG.

Nathan Stanyon (Sits down)

“Are you going to confess?” 

Yung Nguyen(Aggressively)

“I ain’t gonna confess”

Nathan Stanyon (Replies)  

“Fine, I’ll see you in prison” 

The clip ended with a cliff hanger, so you don’t know what is going to happen to Yung.

AS Media Prelim Task

Location - DA1 6BS: James' house

Location - Lesnes Abby: Abby Wood

The circled area is the section of the abby we used mostly, this is where we shot the 'Shot reverse shot' section of our opening scene where james turns around after hearing a strange sound.

The left circle is where I stood and ran across the abby as a dark shadow, playing the main antagonist. The right circle is where James stood and turned to look for what made the sound.