Applying Theories to Opening Sequences.

1. Applying Levi-Strauss to the Opening of 'Pale Rider.' [Eastwood]

- Cuts from action and noisy surroundings to peaceful village and quietness, quiet vs. loud.

- Turns darker when danger approaches, darkness vs. light.

- Complete darkness in sky after disruption.

- Pale Rider's horse is white as opposed to the brown horses of the bad guys.

- Calm vs. panic. (before and after attack)

- Dry plains vs. green trees.

- Men vs. women.

- Steady cam vs. frantic cam.

- Upbeat music vs. tense music.

- Slow editing (same length shots) vs. choppy editing. (more frantic movements)

- Life vs. death.

- Attacker vs. victims. (high angle vs. low angle)

- Open space vs. enclosed space.

- Everyday vs. spiritual experiences.

Applying Levi-Strauss to the Opening of 'Die Hard.' [John McTrernan]

- Confident flyer vs. scared flyer.

- Family vs. alone.

- Older vs younger. (married vs. single)

- Reserved character vs. chatty character.

- Sunshine vs. dark elevator and car-park.

- No music vs. violins, tense music.

- Sweetness vs. anger.

- Marriage vs. career. (family vs. job)

- Husband vs. wife. (past vs. future)

- Hero vs. criminals (good vs. bad)

- High tech vs. old fashioned.

- Formally dressed vs. informally dressed.

- Home vs. away (NY vs. LA)

- Loads of veritcal camera movement.

- Repeated motifs eg. photos.

- Repeated phrases.

- Repeated actions.

2. Applying Barthes to 'Rear Window.' [Hitchcock]

Action Code: Man wakes up in flat, people wake up on surrounding balconies, man starts to shave, woman dances.

Semantic Code: Man sees woman from his window dancing in her underwear.

Enigma Code: Why are people sleeping on their balconies? Why is the man's leg in a cast? Why all the old photos?

Referential Code: 'Screenplay by MJ Hayes' 'Directed by Alfred Hitchcock'

Symbolic Code: Male character may symbolise mental instability?

3. i) What forms can opening sequences take? Can you list the conventional features of opening sequences?

Opening sequences generally feature some sort of disruption/a hint at how the equilibrium will be affected to reel in the audience and to ensure they will carry on watching the film. They also feature the main characters - the protagonist and the antagonist, most importantly. Throughout most opening sequences, music is usually played in the background which sets the mood for the rest of the movie. For example, in 'Legally Blonde' an upbeat song was played in the background whereas in 'Seven' more tense music was played, clearly showing the difference in genre between the two films. Text is always featured in opening sequences too, displaying information about the actors, director etc.

ii) What narrative functions of opening sequences can you identify?

Opening sequences have a number of narrative functions:

• To introduce the main character/characters to the audience
• To establish a narrative structure
• To grab the audience's attention and keep them interested in the rest of the movie to come
• To establish the genre and mood/tone of the film
• To establish the audience's expectations of the film
• To introduce key iconography

iii) What do audiences gain from watching the opening sequences?

Audience's gain a large amount of knowledge from opening sequence's alone - they get a hint at events to come as well as who these events involve (character[s] shown) and what the key themes in the movie will be. (eg. romance, crime etc) The opening sequence is what draws the audience in - providing it is successful, the audience expect the rest of the movie to be just as good. They also gain knowledge about the area in which the film will be set.

iv) What do film-makers gain from including an opening sequence?

By including an effective opening sequence, film-makers gain control over their audience. It can hook the audience in and encourage them to watch the whole film. The sequence leads the audience to have many questions about the plot, the characters and the events to come making them want the answers to their questions. Sometimes, film-makers use opening sequences to mislead the audience so the twist at the end of the movie is effective - this is more common in horror movies such as Saw, The Hills Have Eyes etc.

Preliminary Exercise Evaluation.

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?
For this task, I worked in a group with Ella, Joe and Anisah. In order to complete the pre-shooting tasks, we had two group meetings (approx 45 minutes each) in which we organised paperwork (storyboards, shot lists, script). We also learnt about the key roles that should be filled. These were the director, producer, production assistant, the cameraman, the sound technician, the light technician and the actors. Since there were only four of us, we had to take up more than one role each. For example, if only one actor was needed then the other actor would take on another role. This way, we all managed to experience different roles and learn about the responibilty involved in each one.

2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?
In order to plan our sequence before shooting it we used storyboards which we found incredibly helpful both during shooting and afterwards when it came to editing. Storyboarding helped us to convey our shot ideas to each other coherently and avoided misunderstandings when it came to discussing ideas. We also had a shot list - this was essential as it told us the order in which we had to shoot shots, based on their locations. We also wrote up a short script of dialogue and then before we started shooting, we did a walkthrough of each shot to make sure that any space/furniture restrictions were sorted before filming commenced and to experiment with the camera and the lighting.

3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
To complete the task, we used a range of software and hardware. The software we used, known as 'Adobe Premier Pro' was the program we used in order to edit our shots. The most basic of tasks we used the program for was for dragging and dropping clips. When putting clips together, we used two video and two audio tracks - this avoided confusion about where one clip ended and another began as clips and audio were placed on alternate tracks. A range of tools such as the razor tool (used to 'cut' shots into parts) and the rubber band (used to create fades) helped us to successfully edit our sequence. There were two monitors - the source and the output monitor. We viewed our sequence in the output monitor and used the source monitor to view our progress in between editing. We also created our titles using the program and edited the whole thing non-linearly.

The hardware we used included:
- a PC based digital editing suite. (to edit shots and create a finished sequence)
- a tripod. (to steady the camera on and to shoot smoothly)
- a Canon HDV mini DV camcorder. (to shoot the footage)
- a Shotgun Mic. (rather than a boom mic, filming was only in small space)
- headphones. (to ensure no interfering sound was picked up during filming)

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
When filming, we had to take into account the length of shots and how long we were able to take at each location - we only had one hour to shoot all of our footage. Because we only had a small location to shoot in, we had restrictions with space especially as three groups needed to use the hallway and we had to take it in turns to shoot there. Since there were only four people in our group, we had to take on our own planning tasks. (one person was head storyboarder, one was in charge of choosing locations etc) When deciding on what to shoot, we had to constantly refer back to the brief as we had already been told what we had to film so we were unable to be too creative when it came to the short storyline we thought up. Whilst shooting, we had to constantly moniter the lighting and sound as changing this during editing would be both tricky and a waste of time.

5. How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?
Successes: In terms of meeting the brief, we successfully achieved everything that was asked of us. The sequence flows and until you closely it, appears seamless. We had a short but entertaining script and the actors clearly spoke their lines. We displayed not one, but two match on actions. (at the start when Ella opens the door and at the end when Anisah runs away) The length of the finished sequence is 26 seconds - i feel this was a good length as the sequence doesn't drag and get boring. We also obeyed the 180 degree rule meaning the audience never felt a sense of disorientation whilst watching our sequence. I also like the way in which the title fades in and fades out at the beginning.
Improvements/Changes: At the start when Ella walks towards the door, it looks rehearsed - we should have filmed her walking through the doors from outside to make the narrative seem more convincing. The cutaway that follows this shot as Ella opens the door should have been more tightly framed too. When Ella walks in to the room, Anisah immediately looks annoyed - this may have led to the audience wondering why she was irritated to begin with and this does not get explained during the sequence. (She was meant to be seen as an 'odd' character but this is was not clear to some so maybe we should have had a slightly different character played by Anisah) In between the shot-reverse-shots that follow, Ella's hand is a problem as sometimes it's on the table but then in the following shot, it's by her side. This is only noticeable upon close inspection but it disrupts the narrative flow and makes the sequence appear less seamless. In hindsight, we would've ensured that she did not move her hand as much. Finally, i would have ended the sequence with a fade to black as i feel it ends too abruptly.
6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?
From this task, i learnt a number of things. I learnt how to read through the 'Action!' script before shooting which was something i previously did not know. I also learnt about what Narrative is and what it means, (how stories are told, everything audibly+visibly present, all the events etc) and how it is constructed. (camerawork, lighting and mise-en-scene) In more practical terms, i learnt about the importance of the clapper-board during filming as when you edit your clips the writing on the clapper-board helps you to establish which shots are the ones you need. I also learnt how vital storyboarding is as not only does it help during filming (the whole crew and the actors can clearly understand what shot is trying to achieved) but it also helps during editing. (knowing when to cut shots up, join them together, add effects such as fades etc) Before we actually did the filming, we made sure we walked everything through - this was extremely useful as we were able to move furniture around to accomodate our equipment. The most important thing i learnt was to film absolutely everything from each location, even if we don't need to as it means that you've definitely got all of your footage and this helps loads when editing. The shot-list was the most time saving piece of paperwork as it meant that we could film shots from each location and reduced the number of times we had to move equipment around. I also learnt about how conflict can arise between members of the group and i feel that all of the things I have learnt will benefit me greatly during the rest of my coursework as I will see possible problems coming and be able to resolve them before they become a problem.
Prelim Documents:
Group 2C

Proppian Analysis of The Lion King.

Synopsis:

A young lion prince is born (Simba), thus making his uncle Scar the second in line to the throne. Scar plots with the Hyenas to kill King Mufasa and Prince Simba, thus making himself king. The king is killed and Simba is led to believe by Scar that it was his fault, and so flees the kingdom in shame. After years of exile he is persauded to return home to overthrow the usurper and claim the kingdom as his own thus completing "Circle of Life." [www.imdb.com]

Identified Character Types:

The Villain - Scar (evil uncle of Simba)

The Donor - Rafiki (all-knowing monkey)

The Helper(s) - Timone and Pumba (Friends who discover and look after Simba)

The Princess - Nala (Simba's childhood sweetheart)

Her Father - not mentioned

The Dispatcher - Nala (makes problems in Prideland known to Simba and convinces him to return)

The Hero - Simba (ultimately returns to Prideland and overthrows Scar)

False Hero - Scar (does not try to marry princess but tries to run Prideland)

Analysis of Board Game:

In our board game we identified all of these characters and their character types were shown in the following ways:

- The main image on our board game was of Rafiki in the middle with the words "What will your fate be?" below him, showing that he is the all knowing donor.

- If you land on a square with Scar of the Hyenas, you either miss a go, go back spaces or get hurt, which happens in the film.

- If you land on Timone and Pumba, they take you across a bridge and help you progress through the game, as they do in the film.

- If you land on Nala, she can help you go forward a few spaces and the game ends with the player marrying her.

- Half way through the game you return to the Prideland and must miss a go if you land on a particular square to restore it.

There were a few other outcomes from landing on certain squares but those mentioned above were the most important.

Examples of Functions in Lion King:

- Villain attempts to decieve hero with trickery: Scar leads Simba to believe he is at fault for Mufasa's death.

- Hero decides on counteraction: Simba decides to return and restore Prideland.

- Villain defeated: Simba defeats Scar and returns to thrown.

- True hero recognised: Simba is king.

- Hero marries and ascends throne: Simba marries Nala and is king.

Evaluation of Propp's Theory:

When comparing Vladimir Propp's theory to The Lion King, we found it challenging to identify all of the functions, partly because the theory is so old [20's] and because not all of the character types were identified [eg. Nala's Father] and some character's doubled up as two types of character. [eg. Nala - princess and dispatcher.] Propp's theory is that of a Russian Folk Tale after all and due to the fact that his theory is now outdated, more recent film does not conform to all of his ideas.

DYM Equilibrium + Disruption Homework Task

1. Who are the agents: the protogonist (the main hero who propels the narrative forward) and antagonist (opposing agent).

2. Describe the Equilibrium. How is it represented? What kind of camera shots can you identify? (e.g establishing shots to create a sense of space or use of CUs/cutaways to emphasise particular objects/characters faces). Pick out 2 or 3 examples. Describe the mise-en-scene: what meanings to the props/costumes/lighting/framing carry?

The protagonist in this is obviously played by ashton kutcher - in the beginning we see him as the hero going through a major struggle and we can tell that the storyline will be centered around him and his personal struggles. We can't tell who the main antagonist is in the opening sequence but the character 'George' is shown to be a bad character, one who inflicts pain on the hero when he's a child.

3. Is the Disruption or Disequilibrium introduced or hinted at? (e.g the serial killer in "Seven" is introduced in the title sequence).

The equilibrium of the story is not shown until two minutes into the film - this is because the effect of the disruption is shown to be taking place at the very beginning. I will talk about the disruption in further detail in my next answer.

After the second minute, the equilibrium is shown to be of a young boy and his mother living together contently. The establishing shot is a wide shot of the street on which they live during the daytime. The setting seems quite normal with children cycling and the young boy playing with his dog. The focus is on the relationship between the mother and her son

There's plenty of shot-reverse-shot between the mother and her son and a normal sequence of events happen. The mother is even shown to take her son to school. It is at this point that disequilbrium is hinted at.

The first two minutes of the film show the effects of a major disruption in the movie that the audience have not been shown yet. The main character is shown to be distressed and in a hospital of some sort, trying to hide from other people showing that he may be in some sort of trouble or danger. We do not know why he is here yet but we get further disequilibrium hinted at later on in the clip.

When the mother picks up her son from school, the teacher is shown to be distressed and we establish that the child has been drawing disturbing pictures at school. We are then shown the mother taking her son to an institution etc and we know that things are going to get worse.

Other disrupting events are shown during this opening snippet too - lots of information is revealed very quickly about the hero's disturbing childhood. (Eg. Knife incident at 5:39, Video incident 7:20 onwards)4. Are there any visual/verbal/aural clues that hint at what the hero's journey might be? (e.g having to solve the murders within a time-limit of seven days in "Seven")

At the very beginning the fact that the hero is in a hospital of some sort hints that his journey might be to do with a personal physical/mental health issue. This is backed up by the title sequence at the beggining where the words 'The Butterfly Effect' are written with an x-ray of a brain in the background.

We get the hint that this will be a journey which he will spend many years on as we are taken back 'thirteen years earlier' telling the audience that they are about to see how and why the events shown at the very beginning of the clip happened.5. From your knowledge of the film, how will the equilibrium be restored and what will be the new equilibrium?

The equilibrium will change a number of times as the hero will change the outcome of his future more than once by going back in time and handling certain events differently. The final equlibrium will involve the hero going back to his childhood and pushing away the person that he cares about the most in order to better her future. The new equilibrium will involve the hero and his love barely knowing eachother or being involved with eachother.

BLK Continuity Exercise Homework

- To begin with, an establishing shot, a wide shot is used to show the people in the living room and shows the audience that the characters are in the same geographic space.
- Between 0:04 and 0:11 shot-reverse-shot is used during the conversation between the two women.
- Around 0:48 match-on-action helps the shots flow when a party popper is shown to be pulled in one shot and when in the next shot, the confetti pops out as though no time has passed between shots.
- At 1:01 a long high angle shot shows all the characters in the location, informing the audience of their positions in relation to one another and their surroundings.
- Throughout the conversation, there is plenty of shot-reverse-shot is used to show reactions from different characters etc.
- The 180 degree rule is followed too. I noticed that throughout the sequence the camera never goes behind Julia Roberts or the red-headed woman.

BLK 'Accident' Evaluation Homework

1. What did you think was the point to the activity?
The main aim of this exercise was to learn about continuity, how to create it and how film is affected when continuity rules are broken. We also had to learn to construct a sequence with only six shots, making us see what important things needed to be included and what would be a waste.

2. In regard to your finished sequence, what worked well?
The brief told us to use six shots - this was successful and our finished sequence clearly shows six shots. We included a whole range of shots in our piece including a wide shot, mid-shot, over the shoulder shot and a close up. The action-reaction part also worked well thanks to the use a cutaway.

3. What w0uld you aim to improve about your sequence?The establishing wide shot was far too short - we should have made this longer in my opinion. The transition from shot 1 to 2 also appears to be a bit jumpy and I would have liked this to have been smoother. We also broke the 180 degree rule as the camera mvoes from Ella's left to her right, confusing the audience a little and making the sequence look unprofessional. We also struggled with the 'match on action' rule in between the shots where Ella punches Jess and where Ella's hand is shown to hit the pole. This looks extremely bad and needs editing. I also feel that before the punch, we should have had a shot-reverse-shot between Ella and Jess.
4. What did you learn from doing this activity?
By making mistakes and breaking a number of continuity rules, I learnt the importance of them and how clumsy filming can seriously mess up your film. I also learnt about establishing shots, shot-reverse-shots and the importance of match on action and how it is vital that it looks like no time has passed in between shots so that the scene flows well.

DYM HOMEWORK feedback

This is a competent summary,although quite brief: technically, you list the shots types but do not always give specific examples, and you have not mentioned the connotations of the title credits in "Seven".

DYM Homework Notes

A Comparison of Two Opening Sequences.

LEGALLY BLONDE:

- Woman brushes hair, gets ready, ECU's.
- VLS of woman cycling, plenty of WS so we can see scenery.
- Mainly character is extremely girly.
- Expect romance, comedy. 'homecoming queen' etc.
- Loads of group shots, expect it to be about students and school life.
- WS show perfect surroundings, expect a storyline that's very fun, not too intense.
- Plenty of buildup to main character, Elle. Lots of pink etc, comes accross as ditsy but well liked by her friends.
- Perhaps 'too perfect?' We expect something might disrupt this very soon.

SEVEN:
- Main character, male, black, 50's? Smartly dressed.
- Expect drama straightaway, thriller, low key lighting.
- MS, LS, WS, dingy surroundings visible.
- Plenty of slow zooms, build up tension.
- Expect crime based, ECU's of film strip, articles, evidence etc.
- Ordinary beginning, man getting up and getting dressed. Can tell he's a detective, ECU's of his possessions, very organised.
- Straight into storyline, "crime of passion." Blood etc visible.
- Det. Mills clearly introduces himself. Main focus on two very different characters. One is laid back, younger, less experienced (Pitt). Other is more alone, bitter. (Freeman)
- Expect movie to take place over seven days, the number seven will be a very important number. Day of week appears.

BLK hwk feedback

An excellent evaluation Natasha, in all respects. Well written using a high standard of terminology, including some technical terms. Very thorough and reflective.

Don't forget to post your still to complete the task.

A great start!

BLK Homework Evaluation

1. Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be seen as representing 'horror'.

- The shot is a MS of a caucasian teenage female directly addressing the camera.

- The shot is quite dark with a small light source coming from the far right, leaving half of the female's face in darkness. The light source is artificial.

- The female teenager has pale white skin and long mouse brown hair. She is wearing all black although her clothes are overshadowed.

- She seems to be tightly gripping the bars of the gate in front of her, attempting to look through the bars. She is standing still and looking intensely at the camera.

- In the background a brick wall is visible as well as the gate in front of the female, although most of the surroundings are in darkness due to the lack of light.

- Darkness is usually associated with evil, leading the onlooker to believe that the shot is from a scary film.

- The female's face is partly in darkness, leading the onlooker to wander if she has a secret or a dark past.

2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

- Firstly, we ensured all other light sources were off and we closed the curtains, ensuring our surroundings were as dark as possible so the pad-light would be as effective as possible.

- After experimenting with the pad-light, we closed the doors over the light a little as when they were completely open, there was far too much light on the female's face.

- To achieve the half shadow effect on the female's face, the light was held above her head on her left side (right hand side on screen)

- We had to be careful to ensure the light did not end up in the actual photo, and in the end we captured a successful photo.

3. What is successful about your shot?

- The fact that half of the female's face is in darkness gives the shot a more eerie feel, as though there are dark secrets to be discovered, making the shot look scarier.

- I think that the surroundings look convincingly real (even though the shot was taken indoors with stage props)

- The female looks scary and is obviously the main character of the 'movie.' It is also obvious what type of character she is (dark, possibly mentally disturbed) due to the use of lighting, props and darkness.

4. What would you do differently in hindsight?

- On the gate, you can see on the top left hand side there's a piece of string hanging that might distract the onlooker. If we had paid more attention to detail, we would have removed this.

- There's also a small light in the very top right hand corner of the shot which we would have removed.

- I might have put the female in a short sleeved top rather than a long sleeved hoodie, personal preference.