Group work - first task - THE PACKAGE

THE PACKAGE


THE PACKAGE is my first group task for Media Studies. Each group was given the same objective: to create a film with the narrative of a package arriving and being placed on site at school, we were able to  form our own story though.
Once we had decided on our plot for the film we got to filming, making sure that everyone had a go at being in front of the camera and behind it. We figured out that for each scene and shot, we had to film several takes from different angles and perspectives in order to have enough footage to put together a 1 or 2 minute clip; in order to put together a slick film you have to film more then edit down so you end up with a film that doesn't in fact use all the footage. However, we found this concept difficult; often getting too impatient to reshoot certain scenes or not having enough time. We tried to use a range of techniques for filming, allowing each person's 'vision' of the scene to come through their shot whilst still making the film coherent and flowing.
Editing was some what simpler, although it was difficult for us all to decide on each transition and music choice when we found have preferred to make our own choices for our own film. We aimed to keep the editing simple so that it looked more professional but with a comic twist (the audience are meant to laugh) by making it slightly overdramatic especially with the use of tension building music that we used from copyright free sites. One the whole however, we were proud of our end product, considering it was our first task.

RESEARCH - OPENING SEQUENCE ANALYSIS

RESEARCH - OPENING SEQUENCE ANALYSIS
Recently we've been asked in class to study a selection of thriller opening sequences and compose analytical notes on lighting, sound, editing, camerawork, colour and miss-en-scene. I studied the opening sequence to The Dark Knight, Collateral and Kidulthood. My notes and links to the youtube clips follow bellow.

The Dark Knight - opening sequence

• camerawork is used sleekly to create an action filled dynamic atmosphere
• the opening sequence starts with an aerial shot zooming closely into action - open frame like this gives a sense of villainous action happening under the surface within the city 
• the camerawork and lighting work together to create a contrast between stillness and action
• lots of cross cutting shots and dolly shots zooming in and out of action to give a sense of the audience travelling with the action
• interchangeable and reverse shots are used in conversations to give a sense of the audience being submersed in the action
• close up shots develop intimate relations with the audience so they feel like they get to see parts of the action that no one else does
• closed frame stylised bank scene includes low angle tilts to heighten the action and villainous characters
•  shots pan throughout the entire setting of the bank to give a sense of action and movement - the audience feel like they are moving with the action
• close up shots when the safe in the bank is being broken creates a sense of intimacy, intensity and builds tension 
• double shot with large depth of field in a relatively still shot before the bus crashes through the bank to give an element of surprise and make the effect of the action more extreme - stillness before action creates a contrast 

Kidulthood - opening sequence

• starts with interchangeable shots between slow motion and normal speed - creates an exhilarating pace thats always changing 
• pan shots included of the school play ground - again an open frame to emphasise the existence of the outside world 
• the shots are usually distorted in some way - constantly rolling or panning or close up on action of people playing football creating an atmosphere of action and movement
• the audience feels like they're included in the action and the fast pace of the scene
• shots interchange between extreme close up of someones hands working technical equipment in a lab - we get the sense that behind the fast pace action of the outside world there is a darker presence that we can't quite place or see
• the camera whip pans quickly between people as they're talking - the behaviour similar to a human eye so we feel like we're in the playground experiencing the situation and looking for ourselves
• we hear sound bytes of background noise to enhance a surrounding environment and a blurred feeling of time passing at an accelerated pace

RESEARCH ESSAY OF ANALYSIS OF OPENING SEQUENCES

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS OF OPENING SEQUENCES

Explore the use of film language for effect in an opening sequence to a thriller. How does the director engage the audience?

‘Pulp Fiction is renowned for its dramatic and surprising opening sequence in which the characters ‘Honey Bunny’ and ‘Pumpkin’ brandish guns in an attempt to rob a restaurant. The opening sequences camerawork begins with a side on double shot of the characters in a booth at a coffee shop. The shot is partly an open frame; the audience is aware of an outside world both within the coffee shop and outside the coffee shop. This puts the two characters in perspective of the outside world, the conversation between them is made to seem normal, a part of everyday life. As the waitress arrives a close up shot is established with her to establish an intimate relationship between her and the audience where else she would be an anonymous figure. The faceless figure of the coffee shop becomes real and we have a sense of the characters interacting with the outside world. However, we never see the body of the waitress, alluding to the fact that something is always kept from our knowledge; we’re introduced to someone who works at the coffee shop but we never see her fully; we know the characters are in a coffee shop but we’re not introduced to an establishing shot (so in a way the frame is also closed). The shots then begin to cross cut between close ups of Amanda Plummer (Honey Bunny) and over her shoulder at Tim Roth (Pumpkin). This introduces us to point of view shots, establishing the audience as a part of the conversational intimacy so they feel included in the action. The camera tilts to include all of Amanda Plummer’s perspective in the shot. The movement is made to feel like Plummer’s eyes focusing on Roth. There are very little pans of the entire scene; we don’t really get to see the coffee shop beyond Plummer and Roth’s conversation. There is a sense of mystery as we are unaware of the surroundings and unaware of what is going to happen next. As the conversation between Plummer and Roth progresses and sub genres of action and crime are revealed, crosscutting between shots becomes more frequent and the shots begin to become more intense: as Roth explains his theory of Robbing banks the camera rolls and zooms increasingly into a close up. We are given a sense of building encroaching tension. When Plummer announces she’s “ready, right now!” Roth brandishes his gun on the table and we are given an extreme close up of the gun to emphasize the severity of the situation and the tension building question ‘are they actually going to do it?’ that we are all thinking becomes shockingly real and apparent. The camera then zooms out to a wide long shot of Roth standing on the booth seat and Plummer jumping to her feet holding a gun screaming threats at the coffee shop. The shot is at a low angle, thereby exaggerating Roth and Plummer to look larger and more intimidating than they actually are. Up until this point there has been very little focusing to create a depth of field in the scene, other than the perspective of the world through the window to make the scene seem as normal and ordinary as possible until the very last moment of total shock to keep an element of surprise and an air of mystery about the whole scene.

The scene lighting in this scene is low key; developing a spectrum of contrasting shadows known as chiaroscuro. There is very little filler lighting used at all, there is one main key source of light that originates from the window that’s made to look like naturalistic lighting and not stylized. The source of this light comes from the side of Plummer and Roth. Combined with very little filler light we are given a naturally uneven, contrastingly lit scene; from the side profile double shot perspective Plummer and Roth are highlighted but the shadows cast on their profiles seem to allude to an air of mystery and foreshadows their villainous intent that we are yet to be introduced to. In close up shots, these contrasting shadows are emphasized and so is the element of crime, which is why close up shots are used more frequently as the conversation becomes more and more suspicious.

The scene itself is designed to seem like an everyday setting; there is nothing unusual about the appearances of the characters or the situation they are in. other than the fact that we are never given any establishing circumstances, so we are aware of an outside world existing but we are never introduced to it; there is something there that we are unsure about and don’t quite know. The set of the booth is made to look like Plummer and Roth have been there for a considerable amount of time already (used coffee cups, discarded plates) forcing us to ask the question ‘so what’s going to happen next?’ . The scene continues to enforce this element of being unsure of the future and keeping us as the audience on edge, even at the end when the full plot of the film still isn’t revealed and we are drawn into watching more.

Sound is used effectively in this opening to enhance the mundane everyday setting of it at first. We hear background noise and chatter from the dinner throughout the whole scene reminding us of the outside world still existing. Part of this background noise is murmuring, the sound of cars rushing by and evening a faint tinkling of piano music. All this alludes to the life continuing to go by in the outside world as we watch Plummer and Roth’s conversation take place; as the scene progresses and we become more aware of the fact they are criminals, the background chatter of everyday life becomes ironic and we begin to sense a building of tension and expect something to happen next.

It is the combination and layering of these four aspects that transforms the scene into such an entertaining, surprising and allusive scene that draws you in to watch more.

                                      

ABOUT

There's nothing I enjoy more than getting sucked in to a great film. I love all kinds of films, from simple, witty films like Beginners (2010) to gripping series thrillers that really have you on the edge of your seat like The Killing (2007-2012). My interest in the media has always been focused on the audiences relationship to media of all kinds and how they react to it. I love that moment when that film makes you cry, laugh, gasp or even just smile. Of course, within the world we live in, I can't resist in indulging myself in cheesy blockbuster films but I also love timeless classics like Some Like It Hot (1959) or Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). The BFI festival is also one of my favourite opportunities to watch new films that aren't perhaps largely publicised. Recently I saw Boyhood (2014) which I really enjoyed. Photography has always fascinated me and how it is used in art form and in relation to news. In a world which now is totally controlled and dependent upon the media, I'm really looking forward to studying Media Studies at AS level.