Evaluation

In this production piece, we were given the task to create a two minute film opening of any film genre of our choice. So I decided to create a thriller film opening as to me it would be the easiest of genres in order to create enigma and keep the audiences attention throughout the two minutes. I didn’t want to use the genre of horror, action and film noir as I think it would be difficult to achieve due to the limited time I had left to create my film opening as I was late starting due to many reasons. By choosing the genre of thriller I thought it would be easy to create a list of props, camera shots and be able to find a suitable location which would work successfully for this genre of film. I thought it would be easy to create enigma and suspense within this genre very easily due to focusing on the types of camera shots and sound.

After completing my filming work i created a questionaire with the intention of having feedback from my targeted audience in order to see if my film opening was successful and targeted the audience in the correct way. The questionaire consisted of questions such as:

• did you enjoy the film opening?
• would you go on to watch the rest of the film?
• is this the sort of film you would normally watch?
• who do you think the tyical audience are for this film would be?
• where might this film be shown?
• what do you like about the film?
• what do you think could have been improved?

I gave out ten questionaires to an audience watching my film opening. The results show that i targeted the correct age range of the audience as 10/10 questionaires said aimed at older teens/ young adults. Also, 8/10 liked the score and sound effects used throughout my sequence which i was happy with for a result as i found the sound most difficult when trying to create enigma. On the other hand through the questionaire i found that my audience thought i could have improved my film opening by making it longer which has been said by 60% of the people who took the questionaire, 30% said make the narrative clearer and 20% said the use of the piano in the score sounded too repetitive. I took into carefull consideration the questionaires i had been given in order to see how i could improve my work in the future.

I decided to create a narrative based around the idea of two females arguing, which is going to be viewed through a series of flashbacks in order to create enigma. Then I wanted one of the females to be seen in a series of shots with a knife viewed again in a flash back effect, then have the same female sat on a bench as though she is reminiscing over her past memories. The enigma and suspense created will leave the audience questioning “does she kill the other girl?”. I wanted to leave it as though it was leading that way, but maybe if I was creating the whole film, I could have created a slight twist to the story so that the woman in red was not indeed the murder of the female but someone else. This is shocking as the woman in red has the connection of a femme fetale taken from the genre of film noir and has the stereotype of seducing a male character and later being killed herself, where as in this film opening there is no male involved which furthermore leads to the more shocking effect of a female being a murder as this breaks the stereotype of a female which is supposed to be kind, innocent and vulnerable.

These two shots taken from the jump cut, flash back sequence is how i have related the knife to the main character to suggest she has or is about to do something dangerous. e.g. commit a murder.

For my media product I think the media institution which would distribute it would be something like Channel 4 as they show British films of different genres but mostly lw budget, independant productions, therefore my film would fit the specification. Channel 4 is a well established institution which is well known for distributing British film’s, therefore are highly recognised and popular within British society.
The audience of media product would be aimed at the young adult age range interested in thriller films. This is due to my characters (actress’s) being young themselves which therefore makes them more appealing to this audience age range. If the audience feel like they can relate to the characters, they are more interested in the situations the characters are faced with as they can then see how they react to certain situations and furthermore idolise them.

I attracted my audience by establishing each of the characters in the same way, as well as creating the suspense and creating the different views on each character, e.g. the woman in red to be negatively portrayed. I did this by using a series of different shots of the character but leaving the shot of the face till the last of the sequence where the character would be revealed with an identity, I chose to do this in order to create suspense and build the enigma. I also built the enigma through my choice of editing which was a fast sequence cut shot but done through the technique of a flash back which was created when editing using a sepia tone. I chose to use the forest setting as due to my target audience being a young adult age group, they would be familiar with the idea of a thriller genre of film through watching films such as the "Blair witch prject" which is a popular thriller amongst the targeted audience. A typical thriller is being set in deserted or isolated area’s as this portrays the idea that something negative or secretive is about to happen. Further more, creating the suspense and heightening the dramatic impact, which allows my audience to relate to the situation. My use of creating enigma attracts my audience through building up the suspense of the type of shots. For example the last couple of shots where the flashback fades into the present tense and ends on a sharp screech, this has been done to create the effect that the woman in red is reliving her past memories, the screech creates a dramatic impact and heightens the suspense as the shot cuts to black leaving the rest of the film to the audience’s imagination.

This sequence of shots is when the sharp screech sound effect comes in on the main character's blink which heightens the dramatic impact and leaves the audience on edge.

During the construction of this product I have learnt different techniques and expanded my knowledge in using the different types of technologies. For instance, before I was not so good with editing and camera work which is evident from my preliminary task. But through learning from my past mistakes I have been able to apply my new knowledge in order to produce a higher standard of work which I am happy with. At the beginning of this task, my first filming production was a disaster when I was working in a pair as it was poor quality. Realising I could do better after watching past films created for the same project and discussing ideas, I decided to work individually and start again with a strong mind on creating a better standard of work. When working with the programme “imovie” I learned new skills such as how to edit better sequences with good timing and create different effects while also experimenting with different techniques in order to create the effects that I want. However, using garage band was difficult as there are so many different sounds and music to work with and it was a case of experimenting with different ones in order to find the right ones to fit into my film opening. However, I did learn how to create a new garage band sound track and view my film and film timing in the same window so that I didn’t have to record my different timings for specific sound effects. Personally, I also think I have improved my use of techniques when experimenting with different sounds for my filming clips, such as the different scores and my use of sound bridges such as the footsteps from a blank screen into the close up of the feet walking, this has been done in order to create suspense on who the character is, where they are going and why they are in this type of setting.

This is a screen shot taken from the program imovie that i used to edit my film footage and put my filming together.

This is a screen shot taken from the program garage band

that i used to create my sound and music

In the progression from my preliminary task to my full product I think I can honestly say there has been a great improvement in my work. This is due to my use of experimenting, learning from past mistakes and new knowledge when using different technologies. But overall, I think I have most improved in my camera work as I have managed to physically capture the types of shots I wanted in my mind and put them into practice when editing. I have also used more advance types of camera editing in imovie in order to create enigma and heighten the dramatic impact for the audience which I am proud of as my preliminary task was very basic and dull. In my production piece I am very happy with my flashback sequences and how the build up the enigma as they establish the characters and also heighten the dramatic impact while leaving the audience in suspense as to what will happen next, which has been done through the fast paced jump cuts and the use of sepia when editing.How ever, if I was to redo this project I would use my time more effectively and do the work I have produced by a sooner deadline in order to spend more time on my sound editing as I feel it could be done a lot more better and to a higher standard as I am pleased with my camera editing, but feel it’s the sound that is not as good and effective.

This is an example of one of my flashback sequences that i thought was successful which creates enigma and builds tensions

To Conclude I think my production piece is successful in creating the enigma for a thriller film through using types of camera shots and editing. However if I could have improved I would have changed my sound editing to a better quality by spending more time on it in order to experiment. Also, throughout this task I have learned different skills which I will continue to improve on in future work in order to improve my standards of work.

Sound Editing

Once i had successfully completed my editing on my filming i then had to Finnish the production piece by completing my sound editing. I had the idea of not using a voice over in my film opening, as i wanted to create the enigma through the music and effects. I also thought if i used a voice over it would possibly give too much of the story line away and therefore lose the dramatic impact for the audience as well as losing the enigma.


I began by opening the application "Garage Band", i then copied my filming from "imovie" and loaded it up on Garage Band as well. I done this in order to successfully plan my timings without having to sit with pen and paper and time things myself, this strategy was time saving and also a way of learning something new as i hadn't used this process before. As i could view my filming while creating the sound track for the filming, i could easily recognize
faults and out of time effects.

This a screen shot taken from garage band before I started creating my sound track and had imported my filming clip.

I wanted to start this section of work by producing my score as to me it was the most important part of my sound editing as it portrays how the filming sequence is viewed by the audience. I had in mind that I wanted either piano or strings as this is the typical score for a thriller film, therefor I chose to follow the same conventions. I began by experimenting with different piano and string sounds, I then wrote down on paper which ones I liked that created a negative tension. I found that most the strings got boring after a while of listening to them and made the film more Gothic and old, therefore I chose to use the piano as my score. However, i did have in mind to use the strings to build up the tension in my flashback sequence's as it gave a theme of danger and a negative approach to what was happening. Next, i concentrated on the sound for my flash back sequence's which i decided to keep plain and simple with the piano quietened in the background with the strings coming in strong and loud. I personally like this sequence as it strongly portrays the idea of danger which therefore builds the main character as well as creating enigma. I got this idea from the Jaws theme tune as when every time there is danger e.g the shark coming, there is a strong use of strings.

After, I began to add my sound effects in such as the footsteps walking through the forest. At first i only had this sound at the beginning sequence of the feet walking. But after editing the rest of the sound I found that it didn't work and had to be continuous in order for it to work and run smoothly throughout the rest of the film, or else not have the footsteps in it at all. Personally, I thought I would need the footsteps in order to make the first sequence to work as it created the suspense about the character, therefore i decided to keep them throughout the film. It was difficult to find the right sound of footsteps that I wanted on garage band as there were many such a footsteps on gravel, running etc. but i finally found one which sounded like walking on forest ground and was synchronise with my filming which was successful. I then added the sound effect of a forest like atmosphere where my main character is walking through forest as it strongly portrays the enviroment in which she is in while also creating emphasis on the idea of being alone.

I then began to work on my score changing for the ending of my film sequence where it would be more slow and soft, in order to portray my main character as innocent and contrast against the harsh strings used in the flash back sequences. For this, I had found a soft and slow piano which portrayed the strong idea of innocence as well as building enigma. I also wanted a dramatic sounding for my ending, for this i thought of carrying on the soft piano untill the end when I use the extra close up, long hold shot of my main characters eyes where at the end when she blinks to have a sharp sting which leads to a blacks screen, then the title of the film "Lady In Red". I decided to use this as i thought it would create a big tension for the audience and make them want to watch the rest of the film in order to find out what really happened. The sound effect from the sharp sting i got the idea from thriller and horror films when something negative and dramatic happens, which was once again me following the conventions of a thriller film.

Second Part Of Editing

Looking over the new film footage that i had i was rather pleased with my types of shots and was feeling really positive to have finished my filming stage completely.

I began by cutting up my shots to the sections that i liked and knew would fit into my filming, but tried to do it in logical order so that i didn't get confused or muddled up. once i had my sequence in an order i began cutting specific clips in order to make the film flow and begin to take shape.

I had to pay extreme attention when completing my jump shot sequences of the flash backs in order for them to create the enigma as well as heighten the dramatic impact for the audience. this was difficult as the shots had to be timed short and made jumpy in order to create the horror like theme of a murder as well as create the enigma and establish the characters, which in the end was successfully done. I had decided to change my flash back sequences to different clips as i was going to keep the same one throughout the film which was the establish character of the killer, but i thought i would be able to create a better enigma through changing each sequence such as the first being the establishing shot of the character killer, the second being the establishing shot of the victim, the third being the sequence of both the characters aggressively arguing and the last sequence being the same as the first in order to create the emphasis around the killer, which further more created a bigger enigma for the audience successfully. i had to make sure each of these sequences were edited to look sepia in order to give a flash back effect, they also had to have the jump cut effect timed correctly in order to build up the enigma correctly as well as establish what is going on.

This is a screen shot taken from the fast cut sequence of both characters arguing. It strongly builds tension as well as portraying aggression through both characters expressions, this particular shot is an over the shoulder shot which shows the reaction from the other character. It is slightly low angled and therefore portrays the other character to be more dominant in the argument, also connotes the idea that the main character is the one that is vulnerable.

I then moved on to editing the rest of the film sequence which seemed allot more easy than trying to get the effect of the jump sequence. however i was pleased with the outcome. it took a while of cutting and re-arranging the clips before i was finally happy with my decision. i am especially happy with the way i managed to edit together the eye line match of the killer and the bench as i had expected the shot to be slightly off target, but it worked quite well. also, i was happy with the arguing sequence in the flash back effect as it was edited together so well considering it took so long to do, and at first i did have my doubts due to the actress's not being able to keep a serious face while doing it, but editing the sequence correctly helped me to overcome this problem and create the aggressive tone which i wanted. however there was one problem with this sequence, i hadn't kept to the 180 degree rule, there fore had to use the "mirror" effect in editing, but when filming i had not noticed this until it came to the editing process and was closely looking at if my film opening runs smoothly. I was also pleased with my ending sequence how i edited the extra close up shot on the eyes in sepia to "wash out" to the normal view of the eyes, giving the idea the the murder has been in the same position before in the past, and then how i cut the close up of the knife shot into the extra close up, long hold shot of the eyes every time the murder blinked in order to portray the idea to the audience that every time she closes her eyes she thinks of the knife, then cuts to black to heighten the suspense.

This is an example of the wash in effect from the sepia effect 

to normal in order to portray a time lapse.

Once i was happy with my film opening sequence i began to add in my film titles. this was very difficult as when i had attempted to make them before the shot of the title overlapped my other shots blocking them out and making them go completely black, however i some how over came this problem and managed to do them successfully. Another difficult part was thinking what to put in my titles as i wanted them spread out throughout my film opening, but i couldn't think what to write in each one, but i finally came up with a variety of titles such as the actress's, productions etc. and finally made it work smoothly in my film opening in a way it helped build up towards creating the enigma.

Overall i had successfully completed editing my film opening. personally, I'm very pleased with the way it has come together as my filming idea before was such a disaster when it came to filming and editing, and my new one actually looked more like a film opening and looked a good quality in comparison, therefore contrasting against the other one, i knew i was capable of doing a good standard of filming and i was pleased i didn't settle for the worst one. i had edited the clips so that it ran smoothly and also managed to use a variety of different camera shots while also creating the enigma. all i had to do now was the sound for my film.

Second Part Of Filming

My second stage of filming took place on the 27th of February. I had a clear idea in mind what i had to get done in order to have my filming process completely finnished. I had a series of different shots to take such as film another character walking through the forest which turned out to be Emily Pybus, i had chosen to do a variety of different shots, firstly starting with her feet in order to create suspense then a shot to establish the character, which will then be followed by a tracking shot in order to create the enigma of who is following her while also giving off the negative tension that something bad has happened or about to happen. I then also needed a shot of the killer walking towards the bench which i done by doing an eyeline match between the murderer's eyes and the bench and then a long shot of her walking towards the bench and sitting down. finnally i got a long take shot of the murderer's eyes which was an extra close up in order to highten the dramatic impact.

This is one of the unsteady handheld camera shots

 i used in order to establish character.

I was happy with the way my second filming went as it was only simple parts of filming i had left to do and had done it successfully. Lucky enough, the weather conditions were the same as my first filming therefore that didnt look out of place or odd. I was also very happy with my variety of shots on the victim character when establishing them as a character which later can be edited in greater detail. I am also very pleased with how good i got my eyeline match between the killer and the bench in order to establish thats where the killer is going. Also due to the weather being dry for the past couple of days before hand it made it easier for my characters to move around easier without slipping over and therefore me having to re-film certain shots over and over again, also it was less windy therefore it was easier to keep the camera and tri-pod steady giving it a better shot.

This is an example of the eye line match i used to show my character was looking at the bench and give the idea that that is where she is going.

On the other hand there were a few problems. when it came to the two characters arguing it took alot of shots to get it right as both actress's kept laughing while arguing as they couldnt think of anything to say while under the pressure of being filmed. however, i should be able to over come this problem in the editing process by editing all the different clips together as the argument is going to be part of one of the jump sequences. from my choices of shots i had decided to do in my second filming, i had slightly changed such as the shots of the dead body and the knife in action. i had to do this as my killer character was scared of knives and being in a public place aswell was difficult as people walking by were giving us funny looks even with the camera being there. so instead i swapped this sequence to the two characters arguing quite aggressively to create the same enigma.

I was hoping that this was my final filming as i was already struggleing with time due to personal reasons therefore had to use my time wisely, after this filming i wanted to dedicate my time towards editing so that i could catch up with the rest of the group and still produce a good quality film opening.

First part of editing.

During my first section of editing, i wanted to have the first part of my film opening completed but without the titles in place as i decided to leave them to the last part of editing due to the difficulties i found when doing my proliminary task.

I began cutting my first sequence of shots which was the different angles of the feet walking through the forest. i chose this as my first sequence as it starts to build the enigma as it has not yet shown who the character is, where they are going and why they are in the forest. then i began to cut and put my fast cut editing sequence in place, this was hard to cut the right timings in order to make the "flashback" like sequence effective. i thought this was successful when establishing the character as well as building the enigma and creating tension. however, i soon became confident using this type of editing. for this fast cut sequence i also decided to use the sepia effect in order to reinforce the idea of a flashback. at the end of the fast cut sequence which establishes the character, i decided to add a shot of the knife at the end in order to make a clear link between both the knife and the main character while still creating the enigma.

This is an example of my jump cut scene with 

the use of sepia to give the flashback effect and establish my main character.

I then began playing around with my different shots of my main character walking through a forest in a way so that it still managed to build the tension for my audience as well as carrying on to build the enigma. the choice of shots i used such as medium and long shots at a high angle or eye level in order to portray the main character as vulnerable and alone in the iscolated location of the forest. this creates a clear contrast against the fast cut sequence, but at the same time its clear that its the same character due to the bold colours of the costume that was chosen for the main character.

Then i started to use the other clips i had in order to outline the ending of my film opening so i knew which types of shots i stll had to get in order to make the opening complete and run smoothly. i had placed a couple of shots of my main character sat alone on a bench towards the end of the film opening, therfore i had to get a shot of the main character walking towards the bench in order for the sequence to make sense to the audience. i also wanted a long hold, extra close up shot of the main characters eyes in order to portray the character as dangerous. in my second stage of filming i also wanted to get the sequence of establishing my second character and the tense argument between both characters.

i thought my first part of editing my film opening was successful as i had established my main character, begun to build the enigma, and created a large amount of tension for the audience.

First Part Of Filming

In my first part of the filming stage, i found it was quite successful. i had in mind to try and get as much filming completed as possible in order to begin the editing work. i wanted to get a rough idea of the type of shots i would need to film and even re-film when doing my second attempt of filming.

While filming, the location of Oddicombe forest fitted perfectly as the weather was windy, damp and slightly foggy which therefore fit the genre of "thriller" as it created a negative impact for the audience as well as creating tension. due to the weather conditions, it made the forest more horrific looking as it was wet and muddy which made the leaves and twigs stand out more, making them look more effective as well as creating emphasis on the dreadful weather conditions. I liked this effect as it gave a clear link to a typical thriller film such as "the Blair witch project" which uses strong, negative weather and deserted locations in order to build the tension and create enigma. on the other hand, filming in these weather conditions was difficult as it was hard to keep the camera steady in the wind, also it was difficult for my actress to walk without slipping due to the ground being so wet and muddy. I overcome these problems by taking a couple of the same shots in order to find the perfect one.

This is a photo of the location we chose to film in. it successfully fits in with the thriller conventions of a deserted area.

I made it my first priority of filming to get my main shots completed such as establishing the main character through using a fast cut sequence of different shots/angles of the body. I aimed to concentrate on keeping these shots low angle in order to portray the character as powerful and intimidating. I did this due to my background knowledge on types of camera shots and angles and how it portrays the character to the audience. once i had got a variety of shots for this sequence i then decided to geta variety of shots of my main character walking through the forest which would be used to create the emphasis on the tension and start buliding the enigma, when doing these shots i used high angle and eye level shots in order to portray my character as innocent, vulnerable and posibley even lonely. this creates a contrast to the fast cut sequence and makes the audience sympathise with the character instead of viewing her as negative. In the next couple of shots i took i emphasised the idea of being vulnerable and alone, i done this by taking a variety of high angle shots of the character alone on a bench in order to make it look as though she was thinking about the past.

This is an example of a point of view shot which has been used in order to make the character appear vulnerable.

However, as it got later on in the day, the forest started becoming darker and therefore make it difficult to film in as there would be time gaps in the filming. For my second stage of filming i had to:

• Get a close up shot of the main characters eyes
• Get a long shot of the main character walking towards the bench
• Film the sequence of the conflict between the two characters
• Film the sequence to establish the second character

Planning

The next stage of my production work was the planning stage. this took a couple of weeks as i kept changing my ideas. But at first i started of with a Cloud Diagram in order to get my initial ideas together on paper.

I then decided to write out a story board in the design of an arrow diagram so that i had the basic idea of what my film would look like and be about:

• opens on a blank screen. ambience sounds of police sirenes and rain.
• quick paced editing of shots around Torquay e.g St mary church, Town (day and night).
  Voice over begins -> police radio effect.
• police investigation theme, camera shots with camera themed like border. MS of female dead on bed (rule of thirds). Cu shot of money under Pillow. Cu shot of wine glasses (on with lipstick print), Cu of bottle of wine toppled over. each transaction made by amplified camera sound with a slight flash to give a camera like effect.
• cuts to a shot of a rainy street. main characters voice over begins.
• Flash back effect of femme fetale getting ready in the mirror voice over continues.
  -> over the shoulder shot
  -> Ms and Cu
• other female enters the shot, relfection in mirror. argument begins, a glass is smashed (cu)
• femme fetale leaves. female sits down (ms -> Cu of face) in order to emphasise the emotion.
• Cuts to shot of femme fatale passing a not to detective in the street. CU of note -> MS of detective under the street light.
• female is getting ready when detective walks in. two shot.
• Fast paced editing of female and detective laughing, drinking and smoking. they then leave the room. amplified door shutting.
• Fades into the the two empty glasses of wine and empty bottle (lipstick mark) and then a cigarette in ashtray still lit (CU)

After Carefully reading through this and thinking about it, i realised this would be too much for a film opening as it would be too difficult with the time limit we have and would most likely be over the time limit for a film opening which we had.

I then decided to change my idea to:

Our Production work task was to create a film opening a couple of minutes long which created Enigma, we also had the option to choose which genre of film we would like to do. Over the past couple of weeks we had been looking at different genres of film in order to see how their film openings created Enigma so that we could follow the same conventions and use them in our own openings. We then deconstructed some films from our chosen genre, i chose film noir and had deconstructed the film Sin City as i was interested in creating an opening for a modern film noir film.

In my planning stage I thought of all the different genres of film that there were, then i decided on different films for each one which had a good film opening. I then came to the conclusion of creating a film opening for a thriller genre. I decided on this genre as i thought it would work well in creating an enigma within the first couple of minutes of a film opening. Also most thrillers are about murder, therefore would be easy to act and stick to using the same conventions such as:

• crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments.
• climaxing when the hero finally defeats the villain
• villain driven plot
• twist to the plot

I am inspired to use some of the camera shots used by the thriller film " The Blair Witch Project" as it builds a large amount of tension as well as creating the enigma. They have done this through using point of view shots and tracking shots. I thought this would be good in my film opening in order to create suspense and successfully build up tension. I wanted to target the age range of young adult / older teen, i will do this through using the same age group of actress's in order for the targeted audience to feel like they can relate to certain situations.

This is an example of a shot taken from the blair witch project which builds tension.

I decided to use Oddicombe forest as my location for filming as it was pretty gloomy and had a iscolated like atmoshpere as hardly any people use the footpaths. this was a good idea for location as this is a stereotypical location for thriller films to be filmed as they are usually dark, gloomy, abandoned, isolated etc. as they connote the idea that something has happened or is about to happen.

For my main character, i wanted her costume to be bold and stand out, therefore i chose to use a bold red long coat as it stood out and was eye catching. also, the colour red represents danger which i thought would be good to use in my film opening. my main character also has red hair which i thought could reinforce the idea of danger and make them be viewed negatively by the audience. i wanted my other character to be dressed in casual older teen / young adult clothing in order to appeal to the young targeted audience.

This is an example of my second characters costume. It is generally the stereotype for older teenagers/ young adults. therefore audience can relate to the character.

This is an example of my main characters costume. I chose the color red to represent danger.

The only props that i will be using is a large knife and a park bench. i wanted to use a large knife in order to reinforce the idea of violence as it is stronger than a smaller knife. Also i thought it would be easier to create a murder using a knife rather than a gun as it would take very careful editing in order to make the gun successful and run smoothly. I wanted to use a park bench in my filming as a prop as it would give the impression that the character is alone, and portray the idea that they don't fit in in everyday society and even the idea that they are recollecting past memories.

My Storyline was to follow the idea of:

• begin with a blank screen and the sound effect of footsteps which is then used as a sound bridge into the main character's feet walking through the forest in order to create suspense.
• then the "flashback" effect used by a fast cut sequence of different shots of my main character from behind, but she will be recognisable due to her bold colour of costume.
• different shots of my main character walking through the forest in order to build the tension, reinforce the establishment of the character and to establish the setting of the forest.
• different shots of my other female character in order to establish that character, to be done through point of view shots and high angled in order to represent the idea they are in danger and build tension
• flash back sequence of both characters arguing, making the main character look weak and vulnerable.
• sequence of my character walking to and sitting on a bench, done through high angled and point of view shots to create the idea she is weak and vulnerable.
• close up shot of the main character eyes, physco / aggressive look. long hold shot.
• cut to black, followed by the title of the film

This was just the brief plan for my film opening as i wanted to experiment with the different sequences in order to make them work smoothly and successfully.

Deconstruction of Sin City

I have decided to deconstruct the film opening to "Sin City"

as i have chosen to use the same theme of film noir,

but a modern version like Sin City.

Deconstruction:

• follows the black and white colour themes, but add's red aswell. This creates a sexy, dangerous idea about the film.
• man offers the girl a cigarette which can relate to the cigarette/ cigar which can relate to the typical conventions of a film noir film.
• voice over from main character.
• the idea of femme fetale portrayed by the woman in red, she is sexy and wearing red which could represent danger. This is portrayed by the camera shots used aswellas the music.
• Wet streets -> raining, puddles, the ambience of thunder.
• the female's dress is red as well as her lips -> reinforces idea of femme fetale.
• Theme of crime throughout the sequence -> police sirenes in the background (ambience)
• The rain and wind have been amplified in order to create the scene to be wet and rainy while also creating a negative impression on the audience.
• Shadowing (typical convention of fil noir) used to cover half the main characters face. this could portray his personality with the idea he is half good but has a bad side to him aswell.
• Crime has been emphasised when he shoots the girl.
• Enigma is created strongly.
  
  
• Credits -> black white and red used yet again.
  -> Comic Strip style is used -> creates a more modern look and appeals to a younger audience.
  
  
• Car racing down street -> detective -> crime
• voiceover from the character, establishes the character and allows the audience to know what hes thinking and creates enigma.
• light on the main characters face, second detective is in slightly darker lighting -> creates a contrast between them.
• large shadows on the wall of the villans -> emphasises a negative idea about them.
• the little girl is in the light... idea shes innocent.
  
  
  The ideas i have gained from the film opening of Sin City is how to create a more modern film through the use of mise en scene, camera techniques, editing and sound and music. I liked the idea of using another colour apart from black and white, but think it would be very difficult to use in my own film opening.