Preliminary Task – Editing and Evaluation

Above is my final preliminary task video. It can be reached externally by clicking here. We decided to film the sequence in the old, out of use science building at school because its creepy and mysterious setting reflects the content of the sequence.

Whilst filming we took into consideration the 180° rule as it is important for the viewer to understand the content of the sequence and using the 180° can aid this. The first 6 camera shots (please refer to the storyboard for information about shots) occur in the corridor. Here, the 180° line was ‘placed’ down the centre of the corridor. During shots 1 (0:03 until 0:08), 4 (0:13 until 0:15), 5 (0:16 until 0:17) and 6 (0:18), the camera has been placed on the actual ‘line’; shots 2 (0:09 until 0:10) and 3 (0:11 until 0:12)  have been placed on one side of the 180° line, no shots occur on the other side of this ‘line’. Bill then walks into the room when he reaches the end of the corridor and so a new 180° line is established. When filming the next section, we did not stick to the 180° quite so religiously however the results were still as effective as if we had stuck to the rule. Shots 8 (0:22 until 0:24) and 9 (0:25 until 0:28) are over the shoulder shots of Bill and Joey (displayed to the left). They look over the shoulders within the region that the 180° suggests which is vital in maintaining the audiences’ orientation. Shot 7 (0:19 until 0:21) also abides by the rule as the shot is Bill’s point of view as he walks through the door, which so happens to be on the ‘right’ side of the 180° line. Shots 10 (o:29) and 11 (o:30) are excluded from the 180° rule as they are close up; they make sense to the audience without having to use the rule. Shot 12 (o:31 until 0:34) however does not stick to the 180° rule. The shot is taken from the other side of the ‘line’. Despite this the shot is still effective. This is due to the angle looking over Bill’s shoulder with Joey appearing central to the shot; the orientation is not lost.

Post filming we tried to use the match on action technique to a perfect standard. We felt as though we used it well but not well enough; when Bill opens the door there is a slight jump in the speed that it is opened it. Also we had difficulty in editing our piece. Firstly we encountered a problem with the Sony Vegas software in the media suite, so I edited the sequence using iMovie on my MacBook however this is not the most technical software for video editing, especially for AS level students. This is the reason why at o:09 there is a flash of white between the first and second clips. To the right is a screen shot of the iMovie software used to edit the sequence.

After completing the preliminary task, me and my team are in a much better position to move onto our coursework task. We are aware of the problem we encountered with the editing software so in future references we know to make sure that the Sony Vegas software or another piece of software at a similar standard is available and working fully before starting the project in order to remove any flashes or time pauses between cuts, thus improving match on action.

We have also discovered that using a tripod may be of a great benefit and sometimes during filming because as we held the camera the outcome did not look professional; the clips were often very unstable, especially the shot between 0:16 and 0:17. Using a tripod would reduce the unstable effect making the sequence appear more professional and easier to watch and interpret.

Another aspect to improve on would be that when looking at the frame at 0:09 there is a horrid glare. This is due to filming facing a direct light source; the glass in the door. To improve on this for our final coursework we would be cautious not to film into a direct light source to prevent this hideous glare.

Preliminary Task – Planning

Before even beginning to think about ideas for an opening sequence for my coursework we have been put into groups and our challenge is to construct a ‘preliminary task’. This simply has to be a short video involving a person walking into a room, sitting down and communicating with another person. We have been given low budget Flip cameras to film with.

The purpose of this is to establish what we already know about camera techniques, editing and framing etc. and think briefly about how we can establish narrative, setting, characters and genre. This gives us a foundation to improve and build on in order to produce our final video to the best standard possible.

Story board

I have constructed a storyboard for our preliminary task. This enables us to shoot the frames we need in order to make the video flow seamlessly and understand how our shots are constructed, we won’t be just shooting anything and hoping for the best. Joey Yeboah and Jack Elliot will be starring in the sequence, Megan Bill will be directing and filming the shots and I will film and edit the clips together.

We have decided to film this in the unused science block at our school. This means that it is easy for us to meet up and film as we are at school everyday and it means we can film this without any interruptions.

Match On Action

After our lesson on the 180° rule we learnt about ‘match on action’, or ‘cutting on action’. This is a technique used when all filming is complete; it is used whilst editing individual clips together to form one longer sequence so the narrative flows effortlessly.

The technique is all about the timing of the editing. Clips should cut from one to another without hesitation or black or white flashes and the following clip should continue from the previous clip as if it was happening in real time. For example if a person was walking, in the second clip, it should look as though there has been no time difference since the previous clip; their legs should start moving from where they ended in the first clip, and they should be in the same environment.

Match on action occurs all the time in TV and films it is so ‘normal’ that the viewer doesn’t think about it.

After researching this technique I have come to the conclusion that including this in my opening sequence coursework project is vital to provide the audience with a good standard, entertaining sequence with a flowing narrative. If sequences did not use match on action they would be of a poor quality and would not maintain high viewing figures which leads to a lack of profit. I will use match on action in my coursework to make sure that each clip follows on from the previous one with immaculate timing.

The 180 Degree Rule

During my textual analysis class we learnt about the 180° rule which is used regularly on TV and in films. It is commonly used during a coversation between two characters. Is is a technique which enables the viewer to remain orientated in order to understand the content and narrative of the text.

The rule itself is that there is an ‘imaginary line’ and that the camera should only shoot on one chosen side of this line. This is so that the characters are always shown on the correct side; a character who is first seen on the left will remain on the left so the audience can interpret the scene. If the camera was to cross this line the characters would appear to be on the ‘wrong’ side. By sticking to the 180° rule the viewer can understand the clip without becoming disorientated.

An example of the 180° rule being put to use would be in the TV drama Misfits. During a conversation between two of the characters; Nathan and Ruth; the audience only seem them from a point of view where Nathan is seen over Ruth’s right shoulder and Ruth is seen over Nathan’s left shoulder.

After researching this rule I have come to the conlcusion that considering and using the 180° rule in my opening sequence coursework project would be beneficial because if people do not understand what it is that they are watching they will not want to continue; if they do understand however, they are more likely to be hooked on the narrative. If my opening scene was broadcasted locally or nationally, using the 180° rule would indirectly benefit me, the director as the viewing figures would be higher and more publicity is gained from the text; therefore a bigger profit is made.

Personal Research – Analysis of Opening Sequences

I was asked to write a short analysis of an opening sequence to a film of my choice after analysing Dirty Harry and Mr and Mrs Smith in class. I chose to analyse Over Her Dead Body (Jeff Lowell, 2008).

The opening sequence to Over Her Dead Body is entertaining and successful in establishing setting, genre, characters and the narrative through the use of camera angles, movement and techniques, mise-en-scene, editing and sound.

The establishing shot is not the first shot on-screen however it is very early on in the sequence. It starts at a high angle shot looking out across the sea to the horizon. It then pans down to show the scene in the foreground of what looks to be a wedding being set up. There is also an aerial shot facing down onto a table being laid by many pairs of hands with elegant cutlery and crockery which indicates that the characters or the area may be wealthy or of a high status. The use of sound also helps to establish setting; the female character (Eva Longoria) speaks with an American accent so the audience already have enough information to process that the film will take place in a sunny area of the United States.

The genre is introduced by two characters who appear to be main characters as the camera focuses on them a lot with mid length shots. They kiss and seem to have a charismatic relationship which makes the audience believe the film to be a traditional romantic comedy. Also the font used to display the credits and title “Over Her Dead Body” over the aerial shot of the elegant plate appears to regal yet it is animated which adds a less formal attire as though it is patronising or ironic, foreshadowing later comedy.

The first character to be introduced is Eva Longoria’s character. She appears to be flustered as she is brought on-screen with a mid shot talking to a maid in a patronising tone. She is easily distracted and struggles to finish a conversation. In a mid shot of her, her boyfriend (Paul Rudd) and a butler she is making exaggerating hand gestures and body language and is the only character who speaks. This emphasises that she perhaps is a dominant character, and certainly dominates over her boyfriend at the very least. Her boyfriend tries to calm her down yet she is still distracted. The audience are led to believe that this couple are the main characters.

At the start of the sequence a variety of photos of Longoria and Rudd’s couple and wedding notices, invitations and newspaper clippings are shown. This is added in through editing and post-production. Longoria’s character is ironically killed by an ice sculpted angel falling on her. This confuses the audience yet intrigues them into wanting to know more.

Personal Research – Analysis of Opening Sequences

For further research of opening sequences, I have studied and analysed the opening sequences of ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ (Doug Linman, 2005) and ‘The Usual Suspects’ (Bryan Singer, 1995) to assess their success levels in establishing

• setting
• genre
• characters
• narrative

The opening sequence to ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ is different to traditional opening sequences; there is little, informative dialogue between a couple in a room and that is all there is. Despite this, the opening sequence is fairly successful in its aim.

There is only one camera angle in the opening sequence; a static shot of the couple in armchairs facing them head on at a midshot. This is odd when compared to other opening sequences and when I come to film my own opening sequence I can not use this idea as it is too static in relation to the coursework. The mise en scene from this one shot contains the couple in armchairs with significant distance between them, in what appears to be a marriage councellors office. From this the audience are already introduced to the main characters and the American accents and modern style office give the audience to figure out that the setting is a modern American city; New York perhaps.

The establishment of the genre is misleading, clever and untraditional. From the awkward dialogue and significant distance between the couple in the opening sequence the audience process that the genre may be romantic comedy. To some extent, this is not wrong, but the audience does not consider or expect the exciting action which follows in the rest of the film.

The narrative, despite following a simple setup and broadcasting minimal information is successful in its aim. There is a clear chemistry between the couple as they argue sarcastic comments between each other like a friendly falling out. The audience can already detect that perhaps the film involves the couple falling out and making up at the end of the film. This hooks the audience into wanting to know more.

 

‘The Usual Suspects’ opening sequence is similar to the opening sequence of Dirty Harry in a way where there is clearly a crime taking place and the film will involve the mystery of this crime and the punishment of the criminal.

The opening sequence contains a tracking shot of a river showing lights in the reflection of the water. This suggests that the setting of the film is a busy location. There is then a text edit inserted which reads “San Pedro” which confirms the setting.

The mise en scene of the opening sequence contains a fire on a boat. The sequence uses a special technique where the start of the film is actually a shot from the end of the film. The end of the film is shown as the opening sequence so the audience want to know what happened during the film to get to such a bad ending.

The criminals face is never seen which adds to the mystery, so does the reasoning for the fire and and the murder. The film is established as a crime/detective film or a thriller.

Analysis of Dirty Harry – Opening Sequence

To start my AS level media coursework, I watched and analysed the opening sequence to the film ‘Dirty Harry’ (Don Siegel 1971):

Opening sequences in films have a number or important purposes. They establish the setting and genre of the film, they set up the narrative, characters are introduced and they make the audience want to continue to watch the rest of the film. ‘Dirty Harry’ (Don Siegel 1971) is a film that has a very successful opening sequence in the sense that it lives up to its purposes extremely well.

The establishing shot, giving us information on the setting of the film, is a view of the rooftop of an apartment block from a high angle shot. On the rooftop is a swimming pool and this is placed in the centre of the frame and the area surrounding the apartment block is made to look busy and central. This specific use of mise en scene makes us aware that a significant occurrence in the film is going to happen at this location. We also know this because the establishing shot is reached by an initial closer view on the swimming pool area and a long shot of a female character, which then zooms out revealing the establishing shot.

The actual establishing shot gives us a lot of information. We know that there is a female character who probably owns the rooftop swimming pool which means she owns the penthouse apartment and has a lot of money. 

The film is initially introduced as a thriller. This is due to the murder of a seemingly innocent woman within the first two minutes of the film and the suspense and mystery created already. Firstly, the audience do not know who the killer is. The audience see him during the opening sequence but the shot of him is specially constructed so we are left clueless about his identity and we want to know details about him. The shot of him is from a low angle and the mise en scene of the shot consists of the barrel of the gun he uses to kill the woman in focus, covering the killer’s face, and his figure is blurred in the background. This is all we see in the frame, the killer, the barrel of the gun and the sky. This has been manipulated especially so the audience can only concentrate on their desire to know who the killer is. Suspense is also inflicted on the audience during this frame because the focus on the barrel of the gun, and the shots from the killer’s point of view, looking down the view finder of the gun and seeing the innocent woman in the pool with the editing of the crossfire covering the frames. These shots are moments before the woman’s death and seeing them leaves the audience in suspense wondering when he is going to pull the trigger, why he wants to kill her etc. and this creates tension.

The audience are then given the impression that the film is also a detective film. This is because the first frame of the film is a sheriff badge that reads “San Francisco Police” and a list of the names of deceased officers from San Francisco, and because after the woman is murdered we see the detective walk onto the scene of the crime. The use of the badge gives the audience the impression that the film is a modern and updated western film.

From the first shot we see of the detective character, we as the audience can already gather a lot of important information about him. His first appearance is him walking onto the rooftop from the doorway from a low angle shot. This makes him appear powerful and dominating. The light used in the mise en scene of the shot hits his face at an angle which highlights his jaw line and facial features which emphasises his masculine characteristics.

The audience are given the impression that he is a detective or a policeman because he emerges from the shadows of the door way, stops with a masculine stance, taking in the scene of the crime, and continues to walk over to the dead body on the floor. This is also reinforced through the first frame of the sequence; the sheriff badge on the plaque. He is made out to be the protagonist. Also, the audience subconsciously come to the conclusion that the character must be a detective or a similar type of person within the police force because he is not wearing any kind of police uniform; he must be of a high enough status to be working undercover or to be doing detective work.

We already know from the opening sequence that there is a character who was murdered, who may or may not have any significance throughout the rest of the film. The woman who was murdered is seen as in innocent victim as we do not know if there is a reason for her murder or not. This inflicts more panic and suspense onto the audience because the fact that she was innocently killed without a known reason means that one singular member of the audience could be an innocent victim killed without a reason in everyday life.

The killer is introduced as a faceless, mysterious figure. The audience are already given the details they need to come to the conclusion that this character is the antagonist of the film. We know from the shot of him where the barrel of the gun covers his face, that he has dark curly hair. This is the only detail the audience can make out about him because the clever use of mise en scene means that the gun is representing his face, emphasising that the figure is purely a murderer; he needs no other characteristics for the audience to understand this. 

The narrative is set up through the use of sound and camera technique. The music when the killer is on the screen is dark and distorted, so the audience are subconsciously made to believe that he is a dark and distorted character. This is also reinforced through the shot of his figure and the barrel of the gun.

The music then, however, changes to an upbeat, serious tone when the detective emerges from the shadows, and the individual shots are edited so they change from one to the other a lot quicker. This gives the audience the impression that the detective that they’ve just been introduced to is an important character who will be deeply involved with the murder and who will try to restore the respect law and order within the film’s setting. We as the audience are already placed on the side of law and order because the initial shot of the opening sequence with the sheriff badge and the tracking shot of the list of names of previous officers subconsciously make the audience feel sympathetic and therefore placed on the side of law and order. The music also reinforces this as the upbeat tone working alongside the detective’s masculine stance makes him seem like a heroic character.

Another camera technique that makes the opening sequence successful is the zooming out of the shot of the woman by the swimming pool so excessively that it blends into the establishing shot of the apartment block and its surroundings, with the murderer’s head and the barrel of the gun, form an over the shoulder perspective. These short few seconds give the audience a lot of information; one character is a well off woman with a rooftop swimming pool and the action is going to take place here; a second character is external to the location but is going to play a large role in the forthcoming action.

Entwined with the established narrative from the opening sequence is the ideology of law and order verves crime; good verses evil. Because the audience are placed on the side of the police force, they are placed on the ‘good side’. Although different individuals respond to ideology in different ways; some individuals may take into consideration reasons for the murderer killing the girl; maybe she had done something wrong in the first place? They consider alternatives before judging and believing a forced ideology.

These techniques all combined make the viewer want to know more about the happenings of the sequence, and make the viewer want to continue to watch the rest of the film to find out more information. The viewer will want to know why the woman was killed, what happens to the murderer, how the detective is going to restore respect for law and order and how the film ends; will there be a successful ending in the sense that law and order overpower crime?

These techniques combined therefore create a powerful, successful opening to the film.

Conclusively, I have realised that for an opening sequence a film to be successful, it must establish;

• setting
• genre
• characters
• narrative