Research and Planning: Opening Sequences Now You See Me

Opening Sequences

Now You See Me:

At the beginning of this film the 4 main characters are introduced. They are all given different personalities and traits that make the audience recognise they are different people but they all have one thing in common so that the audience can tell that they are linked in some way. We have a group of burglars in our film but because our opening sequence is going to be around two minutes, we won't have time to give them different personalities. However, showing the burglars and the police in different places could make it clear that they are working against each other and that they are two different forces which would help to develop the story with a short amount of time.

The movement for this film seemed quite fast paced because the introduction to the characters doesn't take too long which is good because there isn't much time in our opening sequence. It was easy to learn about them through their different scenes because of the way they acted and their dialogue. Using a lot of dialogue in our sequence could be risky since the dialogue will emphasise any bad acting that we have. Relying more on editing would be safer.


The first character stares straight into the camera. This 'fourth wall' rule of film is broken because it looks like he's looking at the audience. The illusion of watching another story is gone and this fits well with the theme of the movie which is the reality (or non-existence) of magic. This also sets the film apart from others because it breaks the conventions of films in the first few seconds of it. The audience is invited to take part in the magic trick which draws them into the film even more because it feels almost interactive.

The second character is introduced in the same way as the first, staring into the camera except that a few seconds later, the audience finds out they are staring at a poster. The piercing blue eyes make them think that they are being pulled into the scene again, making them pay attention, but when they see that its a poster they are thrown back into their position as an audience again. This plays mind games with them and further reinforces the theme of reality and fantasy.

Research and Planning: Opening Sequences Se7en

Opening Sequences

Se7en:

The opening scene for 'Se7en' starts with a bang (almost like a gunshot) and a black screen. This seems significant because it shows right from the start that the movie will include something dangerous and it foreshadows murder. 

There is an even louder bang when the first shot appears of someone opening a book. This is an indicator that the person (whose face is never shown) is to blame for all of the chaos that will happen during the film. The sound effect probably won't be used in ours because of its dark and chilling effect, and ours is more action than horror.

The shots used are a disorganised compilation of things that the character is doing. The audience can't tell any information from this except that the character might be crazed because of the disturbing images shown in whatever scrapbook he is making. 

There are certain close ups (of hands with a razor, a lot of writing) that make it hard to see what all of it means, which could be representative of the crime genre and that detectives have to piece together whatever evidence they have to solve the crime. This could be useful for our film because of our genre but instead of unrelated and random shots we could put together shots that flow together to tell the story e.g. Burglars planning an escape route.

The music is made up of lots of distorted single sound effects with the steady drum beat and sizzling sound accompanying it. The sounds make the atmosphere quite intense and creepy because it's all unorganised. This keeps the audience tense and anticipating something popping out because things are usually calm before a jump scare in thrillers and horrors.

Research and Planning: Opening Sequences Fast and Furious 6

Opening Sequences

Fast and Furious 6:

The first line of this movie is "Let's go for a little ride". This is obviously an iconic line from the first Fast and Furious movie. A huge amount of the audience for this film would be people who are fans of the franchise. This was movie has been hugely anticipated since the last sequel and the makers of the film knew this so they compiled a selection of clips from the previous movies and pieced together an opening. This would call the audience's attention because they are encouraged to look back at all of the characters' ventures and mishaps over the years.

Within this opening montage, the audience gets to relive the characters' journeys from past to present, including how we met them and how they formed their friendships with the group. Someone who has watched all of the films would be able to make sense of the way that the characters are introduced but those who haven't would still be entertained because there is still a sufficient amount of action, car chases and guns (always expected as codes and conventions of the crime-action genre).

The titles for the opening appear in a metallic font and zoom across the screen, slowing only enough to be read for about 3 seconds maximum  before it zooms off screen again. This could be representing the ever-present customised cars in the film and their speedy car chases and races, but the font style could also be linked to a gun or a bullet whizzing across the screen because of the crime in the film.

All of the clips used have been given a colour filter effect, a blurred edges effect or been blurred. This communicates to the audience that the action isn't happening now and makes it look almost dream-like so that it looks like the past. The blurred edges effect could suggest that we are looking through a hole to these memories, maybe even the memory of one of the characters.

The song that accompanies the sequence (We Own It by 2Chainz & Wiz Khalifa) is a hip hop song and as well as connoting anger and trouble which are tones set in the film, it was also recorded by two famous rap artists and so some of the audience would recognise this and pay attention to the screen or possibly sing with it.

Audience Profile

Audience Profile

Preliminary Sequence and Evaluation

Preliminary Sequence

What do you think went well?

It think our preliminary sequence had good continuity except for a few things. I think our editing is quite tightly done and we've made sure that where our mise-en-scene didn't convey the plot/storyline, the dialogue did. Our lighting was clear enough to see our characters, but also there's a contrast of lighting between Katie and Lucy, where Lucy's figure is lit very well, Katie's is slightly dimmer. This could be considered symbolism for right/wrong or good/bad.

What were your Criticisms?

There were a few continuity errors for instance Lucy's hair is down in the first shot and then up in the next few scenes, and Katie is wearing a red and grey hoodie in the first shot but a blue jumper in the next. The rain is also a big error in terms of continuity but it's also uncontrollable. There is one shot that is made glaringly obvious that it's too long. The camera follows Katie's walking for about nine seconds and its too long to watch one character do one thing with nothing else happening in the frame.

Do you agree with the criticisms?

I do agree with most of the criticisms especially the one about Katie's tracking shot. It was very long and the audience didn't need to see the whole of Katie's walk to meet Lucy, we could have just filmed her start walking and switched to Lucy to skip most of her walking. Although the walking was longer and we got rid of a section of it before submitting this version. I think the rain was a continuity error but I disagree that it was a huge problem because it looks like it started as Katie walks closer towards Lucy. This could be considered pathetic fallacy and give the audience a sense of foreboding. 

How well do you think your group organised this project?

I think we could have improved our organisation. Our time-keeping was fine considering our short time frame, but we did start filming without half of our script and half of our storyboard but finished them both before the end. If we were slightly more organised then we might have remembered to keep the same clothes for filming to avoid continuity errors. With our variety of shots there was no way we could have finished it in one session, but if we had finished the script and storyboard then we would have known exactly what our shots would look like instead of spending time improvising.

How would you improve it?
If we could improve it, I would definitely shorten the shot of Katie walking towards Lucy to about 4 seconds at most. I would have kept all the actors in the clothes that they started filming in and also I would have a longer time frame so that I could re film with the same clothes and on a day when it isn't raining. The frame where you can see Lucy standing still and Katie walking into it so they face each other is a few frames long and that could have used tighter editing as well.

Opening Sequence Rankings

 

OPENING SEQUENCE RANKINGS

 

 

#1 : The Deception (12E8)

I picked this as the best because the titles were really well thought out, the storyline was clear and wasn't too complicated. The flashback and the use of shot reverse shot was done well and it showed good editing skills. The tension was built well and didn't feel overdramatic or badly-acted because there wasn't too much dialogue. The music was right for its genre and mood because it didn't draw too much attention or take anything away from the action.

#2 : The Slayer (12E10)

The storyline was clear, they had a good variety of shots and mise-en-scene and their use of lighting was a good idea but I think in some of their shots it was hard to see what was going on. The music was good at the beginning but maybe needed to change slightly as it went on to keep it from being repetitive and boring.

#3 : Abduction (12C6)

The titles could have been improved by making them match the genre of the film. They had a clever use of CCTV cameras but the tension wasn't enough for me and it felt like it went on for too long. I think the camera needed to be at a different angle and distance from the characters because at times it felt like they were looking straight into the camera.

 

#4 : Snakes and Ladders (12B2)

The titles and music were great and matched the genre well but it felt more like a TV show than a film. They could have used more of a variety of shots but the tracking shot at the beginning was really good.

 

#5 : It Swings In Roundabouts (12C7)

The titles were creative but ended very suddenly. I liked the music because instead of having music the whole way through, they had silence too which drew attention. It wasn't over acted and the scene with the girl was tightly edited. The rested of it needed to be edited a bit better.

 

#6 : Graves (12C7)

Some of the camera movements needed to be a lot smoother because they seemed a bit shaky. The voiceover was a really good idea and I liked the plot idea. The music could have been improved to match the genre.

 

#7 : Rundown (12E7)

The storyline didn't make any sense but I really liked the action shots of the characters running. If there was more information it could have been good. The beginning was good and the end didn't end right.

 

#8 : Bacterium (12B1)

Even though the storyline was clear and there was a good range of shots, there wasn't a lot to keep me entertained and it got boring very quickly. The shot reverse would have been good with some tighter editing.

 

#9 : Chroniker (12A2)

This would have been interesting if it made sense. The music didn't match the genre at any time, and it also changed too much and took attention away from the action. The split screens were good for a while but were over used and got boring.

 

#10 : The Resistance (12B6)

The shot reverse shots used in conversation were terrible and needed to be filmed at a different angle. If there was less dialogue and it didn't rely so much on the acting it could have been better. The camera was shaky and even though they used a POV shot it was ruined by the bad acting.

 

#11 : 1962 (12E9)

The acting was terrible. There were too many gaps in the dialogue that could have been fixed with basic editing. The tension was non existent and a lot of the shots seemed rushed because of the shaking and jolting. There was a lot of unnecessary screaming and the music seemed out of place.

 

 

Examiner's Rankings:

 

1. E10- The Slayer, 2. E8- The Deception, 3. C6- Abduction, 4. C7- It Swings In Roundabouts, 5. B2- Snakes and Ladders, 6. B1- Bacterium, 7. E7- Rundown, 8. A2- Chroniker, 9. B6- The Resistance, 10. C7- Graves, 11. E9- 1962