Film Opening Analysis (DRAMA)

Film Openings (DRAMA)

• shot sizes

• shot angles

• shot durations

• transitions and overall pace

• sound effects

• use of music

• title fonts and colours

• colour palette and lighting

• setting

• types of characters and their contexts

• storyline and plot developments

• overall tone, mood and atmosphere

FILM 1 - The Judge

• guitar music begins still on black screen

• begins with still shots of props 

• first few shots are warm toned

• objects such as a glasses, camera, photograph etc could be motifs for later in the film

• shots fade out to black

• shallow depth of field shot of blue plants with person in background

• title is superimposed over this shot - serif font in white

• slow fade out to black, music changes to faster

• drone / helicopter overhead tracking shot, establishing

• long shots of inside the building, people moving around makes it seem busy

• bathroom is blue toned, bright 

• shots of two men having conversation in room, straight cut transitions

• wider shot, track, pan, two shot, shot / reverse shot, over the shoulder

• first part and second part’s colour palette, music, transitions etc. contrast each other

FILM 2 - Forrest Gump

• production credits superimposed over long take to establish location 

• tracking shot follows feather floating down to lead to actor

• slow, peaceful music, reflects gentle shot, mood of film etc.

• one long take through titles and beginning of action >1 min

• feather is CGI

• only two takes, with straight cut between them

• ambient sound with music

• white titles over shot, subtle

• bright colour palette, warm

• characters waiting at bus stop

• warm, happy atmosphere

FILM 3 - The Time Traveller’s Wife

• classical music, foreign language begins over production credit screens

• serif font title, fades in and out of focus

• depth of field shots through car window, lights and colours

• music is sung by actor, non-diabetic

• didn’t start with establishing shot - unusual

• warm toned, dark

• shots became wider and shorter towards end of extract

FILM 4 - The Descendants

• black screen, ambient sound fades in without video

• video fades from black to reveal setting, fades back to black after a few seconds

• productions titles on exotic, coloured background, and with music relevant to film

• establishing shots of city and people - Hawaii

• voiceover giving context and character information over establishing shots

• voiceover tells us context of first shot -  shows woman in hospital

• seems to begin happily with ukulele, major music, exotic setting, but shows hospital

• unexpected unhappy atmosphere

FILM 5 - Age of Adeline

• tense, sad music over production credits

• opens with establishing shot of planet earth

• birds eye view shots gradually get closer to earth, showing car driving 

• voiceover tells audience who she is and what is happening -  omniscient third person narrator

• shot reverse shot, two shots of conversation

• high key lighting outside, low key indoor, contrast

• white minimal, script font of title, in corner of screen, non-intrusive

• character is intelligent, observant

• tense mood, mysterious, intriguing 

FILM 6 - Life of Pi

• fades from black into establishing shot

• white, script titles gently scroll

• main title in larger and centred over shot, white and yellow

• opening shots show animals

• Indian style music fits with shots

• depth of field changes to show different things in the shot

• no characters shown yet

AS G321: Preliminary Task - Final Edit

AS G321: Preliminary Task - SHOT ORDER

Shot Order

• Establishing long shot
• Mid shot of her outside the house
• Close up face confusion 
• Mid shot Pushes open the door
• Tracking shot see’s her enter the house (camera is transferred through the window, displaying Emily in the house.) CLATTER NOISES
• Over the shoulder shot as Emily looks at the mess the robber has created within her house. 
• Out of the corner of her eye she sees a shadow, quickly pans at canted angle to moving object and back quickly. 
• Tracking shot follows Emily down the hallway from over the shoulder perspective looking around, see’s robber behind fridge.  
• Janice(robber)tilt from her feet upwards to her face.
• Two shot of both looking shocked
• Medium close up of Emily “Who are you?” 
• Shot reverse shot for dialogue. 
• Emily is punched in the face in a medium close up shot and a tracking shot of the hand moving before impact. 
• Close up of Emily on the floor
• POV shot from canted angle on the floor as her vision begins to fade, kitchen floor. Slowly loses focus. Impairment shot. 
• Tracking shot from Emily’s face, through the corridor and out onto the drive as thief runs away. 

Shot Filming Order

EXT Shots filmed first

• Establishing long shot (first shot)
• Mid shot of her outside the house
• Close up face confusion 
• Mid shot Pushes open the door

• Tracking shot from Emily’s face, through the corridor and out onto the drive as thief runs away. (last shot)

INT Hallway shots

• Over the shoulder shot as Emily looks at the mess the robber has created within her house. 
• Out of the corner of her eye she sees a shadow, quickly pans at canted angle to moving object and back quickly. 
• Emily is punched in the face in a medium close up shot and a tracking shot of the hand moving before impact. 
• Close up of Emily on the floor
• POV shot from canted angle on the floor as her vision begins to fade, kitchen floor. Slowly loses focus. Impairment shot.
• Tracking shot follows Emily down the hallway from over the shoulder perspective looking around, see’s robber behind fridge.  

INT Kitchen shots

• Janice(robber)tilt from her feet upwards to her face.   
• Medium close up of Emily “Who are you?” 
• Shot reverse shot for dialogue. 
• Two shot of robber and Emily

AS G321: Preliminary Task - STORYBOARD

AS G321: Preliminary Task - SCRIPT

IT'S MY HOUSE!

SCENE 1

EXT. EMILY’S HOUSE. DAY.

Establishing shot of house. The front door is open. EMILY walks up to the  door and stops as she sees it is open. Mid shot of EMILY looking at the open door, confused. Close up of the door as she pushes it the rest of the way open and steps inside. 

INT. EMILY’S HOUSE. DAY.

She looks around and sees movement out of the corner of her eye. She walks cautiously into the kitchen, where the thief is trying to hide. 

EMILY

Who are you?

THIEF

Who are you?

EMILY

The owner of this house! What are you doing in here?

THIEF

Oh… I… The door was open, I thought it was for sale, I was just having a look…

EMILY

Well this is my house and it’s not for sale.

THIEF

Sorry… I’d better be going now then…

EMILY

You better or I’ll call the police.

The THIEF looks around nervously, looking for an escape.

EMILY

Wait… are you robbing me?

THIEF

Umm… no?

Over the shoulder shot pans down to show the valuables the THIEF is holding behind her back. 

EMILY

I’m calling the police.

EMILY turns around, looking for the phone. The THIEF quickly goes out the kitchen door and hides in the living room. EMILY turns back around, holding the phone.

EMILY

Wait where…?

The THIEF leans back round the kitchen door.

THIEF

Have a good evening!

The THIEF punches EMILY, who falls to the ground. POV shot from EMILY lying on the ground and the THIEF’S feet. Tracking shot starting with EMILY lying on the ground and pulling back through the hallway and out the front door as the THIEF leaves the house and runs down the road. 

AS G321: Preliminary Task - TREATMENT

Working Title

It’s My House!

Synopsis

Emily comes home to find her front door wide open. She rushes inside and there is a stranger in her kitchen. She asks who they are and threatens to call the police. The stranger denies being a robber but a pan shot reveals to the viewers the stolen goods hidden behind their back. Emily is suspicious and turn to find the phone to call the police, but when she is looking away the stranger slowly leaves the room. Emily turns and is shocked but then the stranger sticks their head back around the door and wishes Emily good day before leaving again. The scene ends with a long shot of the stranger sprinting away down the road as a police siren blares.

Characters

Emily -  A teenage female, who who owns the house.

Thief - A thief who tried to steal the house and does everything she can not to get caught.

Film Techniques

We will film on a Canon EOS 700D and use three-point lighting to light the scene. The techniques we will use are:

• Match on action

• Shot/reverse shot

• 180 degree rule

• Tilt

• Pan

• 360 degree tracking shot

• Over the shoulder shot

Product Considerations

We intend to film in a house and the surrounding streets. 

DSLR Guide

DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex. It is a camera with one lens and a mirror which reflects the light, where pictures are recorded on a digital card instead of film.

Exposure

• the amount of light a digital camera’s sensor captures when a photo is taken.

• too much light results in a washed out photo (overexposed).

• too little light results in a too dark photo (underexposed).

• a camera’s aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings directly affect exposure and allow you to control how the photo will look.

Overexposed:

Underexposed:

Aperture

• size of the lens opening.

• a low f-stop number allows in more light, which gives a shallow depth of field and an out of focus background and foreground.

• a high f-stop number allows in less light, so has a wider depth of field, giving a sharp foreground, mid ground and background.

Large Aperture (f22):

Small Aperture (f2.8):

Shutter Speed

• controls how long the shutter opens to expose the image sensor to light.

• a short shutter speed means the shutter is open for a very short amount of time. This allows less light to get to the image sensor and means a photo can capture a fast-moving object.

• a long shutter speed means the shutter is open for longer. Therefore more light can reach the image sensor and photos taken of a moving object will be blurred.

Long Shutter Speed (1sec):

Short Shutter Speed (1/6000)

ISO

• how sensitive the image sensor is to light.

• the higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor, and the brighter the image will be.

• the lower the ISO, the less light will come in and the darker the image will be.

• using a high ISO in low light will produce a grainy image, so it is best to use the lowest ISO possible, and adjust the brightness of the photo using other elements such as Aperture and Shutter Speed.

High ISO (6400):

Low ISO (100):