Final Opening Sequence

Question 7- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

From the preliminary task I’ve learned how to make shot continuity fit in as well as improving my editing skills. My current film is better than the preliminary task as we have included more shots from various angles positions and different movements to the preliminary task. Also, we had a tripod for the final task meaning shots were steadier than the preliminary task which was recorded handheld. This time we got the chance to add non-diegetic sound helping improve the narrative and intensity. We include fading it in and out as well as increasing the volume of speaking parts to make it clear what is being said. The lighting was dull reflecting he setting and mood in the scene compared to the first one which was a lot more vibrant and didn’t match the conventions. We used the 180-degree rule in the final task but not in the preliminary we picked up on this and made sure it didn’t happen in the final product. Eye line matches were used in both so it pieced together on who was speaking to who and making the audience feel interacted. Also, the continuity of shots has been improved to make it piece together better in our final product which is key for our production as its fast paced at times. 

I feel like the preliminary task was useful as it helped me pick up on mistake and improve them to make the final product the best we could. The only problem with our final product was it having to many shots and having to reduce it, potentially making our opening scene better. It would have also been great if we could have longed the chase scene to make it more intense and exhilarating. I’m happy with the production as it how imaged it however we missed out on some shots meaning we missed out and some good ones. 

Question 6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Question 5- How did you attract/address your audience?

We made our Spy film opening scene attract the audience through the use of conventions belonging to the genre. The hostage making the scene tense to see if Joel Beckford did escape. This creates questions for the audience for why he is there and where he is. The chase scene also creates a thrill for the audience as anything can happen and if the hero escapes or not. This retains our audience and engages them with the footage. This is due to the effect of the dramatic non-diegetic music making the scene tense as Joel Beckford looks to break himself out. The conventions we used make it the tensest scene as Beckford is being held hostage and is attempting to escape and when he does escape it turns into a high speed chase on foot making it thrilling and exciting. We left the opening scene on a cliff hanger as Beckford is in the lift and manages to hide away from the bodyguard but we don’t know for sure if he escaped for sure. This leaves the audiences wanting to know the answer to Beckford’s safety.  

Overall this leaves the audience engaged at the start, focusing on the opening scene due to the questions it raises as well as it being action packed through conventions of the spy genre doing this. 

Question 4- Who would be the audience for your media product?

Question 3- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Question 2- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In the production the villain is represented of a higher class and importance (first picture shows this). This is demonstrated by him wearing a suit showing dominance and importance as well as suggesting himself of being of a higher class. Also, the way he acts being demanding and running the situation it involved someone else doing the work for him, in the bodyguard. This shows the power of the upper class and the impact they have to control the situation. They let someone of a lower class of them to do the dirty work as they just give out orders. This is shown when the bodyguard is keeping Joel hostage whilst the villain is away. When the villain says he will gain a pay rise it’s because people working under him are desperate for money and turn to earning money illegally. Displaying a lower class as desperate and easily lead/controlled by someone with more money, power and authority (shown in the middle -picture).Joel is displayed as middle class and is seen as a threat by, me, upper class. This links to stereotype of aspiring to be of the upper class and the upper class trying to put them in their place. Joel escapes prevailing that is possible to become of an upper class status, but it takes hard work displayed in escaping the rope and staying mentally strong during being kept hostage (shown in last picture).

We used all three classes in order to try and promote the film and make it relatable to them, due to their position in society, as well as increase sales through this.  Techniques such as camera focus being mainly on the upper class suggesting prominence as well as low angle shots showing authority.

The Genders used are male as if this happened in real life it would stereotypically be an all-male situation as well as appealing to the main target audience. This is due to males seen as more violent than females and more likely to commit crimes. We also didn’t have access to females use to choice of our own as we wanted to use the people in the group.

Ethnicity is white to show my dominance as white people are displayed as superior to others, especially of the upper class and of more power stereotypically. We also didn’t have access to other ethnicities. If so we would’ve used a black male as the bodyguard to show dominance as well as stereotypically being associated with crimes. This was through our own choice due to wanting to use people in the group. 

Question 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our film challenges spy convention due to the bodyguard (assists villain) and Joel Beckford (hero) wearing more casual clothing compared to other people featured in spy films wearing suits challenging conventions of a spy film as these type of characters’ wear suits. However, the villain wore a suit representing the convention of a spy film of authority figures. In addition, height contrast shows that the villain himself in mentally superior and the bodyguard physically superior. This is a convention as villains would leave the bodyguard to do the dirty work for them. We also had to film in a local car park which probably wasn’t done in spy films and if so all cars and by standers not in the way. But, we managed to stop any one interfering in our film by retaking shots when someone was walking past and if of course we couldn’t move people’s cars out the way as we didn’t have permission too. A chase scene is a part of the convention as it is used in several films as the hero escapes the villain in our opening scene. Also, using quick jump cuts shows intensity of the scene. This causes the audience to be thrilled and be engaged from the start which tends to happen in spy films as well as a sense of mystery to why he is kept hostage.

We used several techniques to make the film realistic and match typical spy films. Editing was quick cuts in high speed scenes to portray the panic and chaos going on.  Camera angles showing me as superior to everybody else as well as speaking parts controlling the scene. Camera shots had continuity to make the scene easier to film as well as look to a professional standard. The camera shots varied positions to set the scene and surroundings too for the audience. Our mise-en-scene was the lighting being natural and quite dull to portray the mood and intensity of the situation and circumstances Joel Beckford was in. I also decided on the backing track with it reflecting how tense the scene is. Non-diegetic sound is key as it can change a scene completely.

I looked at several scenes where there was a hostage start such as Kingsman: The secret Service which showed mystery and intensity through the scene. Also, we used a chase scene which is a massive convention and James Bond displays this perfectly. In pretty much every one of their films using it at the start whether it be on foot, bike, car, train etc.  Due to the success of both films I decided we should merge them to together and use them in our opening scene. 

Revolving Previous issues

Problems:

In our first filming session, we had some problems. This was poor lighting and a lack of continuity in our footage. We originally decided to film at 3:30 pm , however, when we watched back our footage, we saw that the natural lighting was extremely poor therefore affecting the quality of our opening sequence as well as us rushing. Also, we had recorded shots which didn't fit together, and we didn't have a wide enough range of camera angles or movements as they were repeated. We reviewed this in class, and decided it would be best if we recorded again, and made our footage a lot more fast paced- a convention of the Spy genre- and better flowing. We then planned to record the following weekend after discussion of improvement, and spent twice as long as we did to record our original sequence. Our results were a lot better, and we recorded earlier in the day to ensure that the natural lighting was correct, and the footage to a good quality. We followed the same storyboard, and used the same location as we had initially planned. This resulting in a better video making it look the part.

Pre-filming Process

Editing

Editing:

Overall, I edited the majority of the filming. I used several tools to make the shots work and seem free flowing. I edited the part from walking down the steps to the end. I used the blade tool in the shot of me walking down the steps so you could see different angles and also to build tension of a important character. This tool was useful as it allowed me to get the correct cut and make it free flowing from shot to shot.

I also used cuts in order to get the correct part of the clip necessary. When filming if a mistake was made we let the camera carry on recording instead of lots of stop start clips and to stop overcrowding of clips in the final cut pro. The cut tool allowed me to gain the correct part and to make sure that from shot to shot it pieced well together.

In addition, I also increased the volume of the shots due to a struggle to hear the scene. This was mainly associated with long shots as the Camera Microphone was so far away but the raising of the sound allowed the dialogue to be heard to gain the narrative. I also faded the music in and out. The music is fairly loud but when speaking we allowed tot make priority so the narrative was clear but quite enough to hear the music to make it it tense.

Finally, I also used the Ken Burns tool to make the shot to shot seem better in one shot. This was due to a bag being in the background when filming that wasn't in the previous shot. The Ken Burns tool allowed us to save time as it didn't mean we had to rerecord that scene due to a silly mistake. It was also used when josh answered the phone to make it a little more tense. 

Filming

Filming:

Our film was recorded at the Vue car park in Altrincham, we choose this scene due to looking like a stereotypical hostage scene form a spy film with its dull/gloomy lighting and echo atmosphere. It involved me Josh and Jack R being in it and Jack D recording the majority of it as well as being a by stander. There were a few issues.

 The first being it being in a public place so it took a few takes due to background noise of cars and people. Not only this it affected some shots due to cars coming and going. This shouldn't be a huge problem as it doesn't affect the narrative as long as everyone stays in potion. 

Another was the tripod. It wasn't very steady and caused some shots to be slightly tilted this led to some scenes being recorded hand held as it would look better. This was a bit of an issue as some shots are tilted and not very steady not looking the way we wanted to.

However, We mad ensure everyone got a go in filming when not in a scene so everyone had equal amounts of footage as well as show qualities in recording. This is displayed in the Shot List table specific to who recorded what. Not just filming but when preparing for the shot I made sure people would do the correct actions by reminding them of what emotion to display, dialogue, positions and camera shot as well as movement.

Re-filming:

The errors we encountered in the first filming was scraped and new footage was used for everything as it didn't work together. All the issues we did come across were improved as it didn't look professional and didn't match the image we expected. 

It involved us taking more shots to allow us to choose a selection of shots that would suit our narrative. We used to tripods this time and two camera to make are shots continuity better. This is seen in the scene where i walk to the hostage scene.

We used more camera movements this time. I did this in the first scene when Josh is keeping Jack R hostage with a tracking movement and a pan movement too.

I also instructed the actors and camera operator during this. I told them what to do and when. For, example telling an actor their lines as well as there emotions and body language. Also, for the camera operator i told them where to stand as well as what movement, who to focus on and what shot type and angle.

We used natural lighting as it would reflect as it was dark and gloomy already giving the audience something to question about where the hostage is and create a tense scene like a hostage would be in real life.

We kept the same costumes as it reflected are characters. Me wearing a suit showing my importance and authority in the scene. Jack R, Jack D and Josh wore casual clothes in order to reflect on the narrative. Jack R being kept hostage so he was taken unexpectedly, Josh being called up to keep any eye and is lower than me and Jack D being a bystander.

Overall, it was a success due to use gaining the right outcome of shots and it working being continuous from shot to shot and of better quality and quantity.

Call Sheet

Shot List

Jack Davenport	Luke McKendry	Jack Rundle	Josh Worrall
Over the shoulder shot of Josh.	Long shot of Josh and Jack R.	POV shots at start.	Over the shoulder shot of Luke.
Over the shoulder shot of Josh and Luke.	Long shot of Josh and Jack R.	POV start of Josh.	Low angle mid shot of Luke.
Close up of Luke.	Close up of Jack R’S hands.	Mid shot of Josh Running through the door.	Mid long shot of Jack R and Luke.
Long shot of Jack, Josh, Luke.	Long shot of Josh and Jack R running away.		Extreme Close up of Jack R.
Medium close up shot of Josh and Luke.	Mid shot of Josh running through the door.		Extreme Close up of Jack R.
Long shot of everyone and moves closer to Jack.

Production Schedule

Date	Description
Sunday 17th of February 2017	·         Arrive at the car park at 3:30 pm meet. ·         Set up tripods and cameras. ·         Film chronologically. ·         Review product and see what needs improving.
Friday 10th of March 2017	·         Meet at 1:05 pm in common room and head to location. ·         On arrival prepare tripods and cameras as well as props for correct placement. ·         Film the main scene first and do shorter scenes afterwards to make sure shots fit together. ·         Check if produce is good to use.

Background Music

I have decided to come up with using this non-copyrighted soundtrack. This is because it is very high intensity and matches well with what we plan to do with are spy film opening scene. The non-diegetic music suits are opening scene this is because it build up tension slowly as Joel Beckford is trying to escape being hostage. It then slows down so this can be used when he escapes without the villain and bodyguard knowing. The tension then builds up again as they realise and see him escaping and this leads to the chase scene and the cut to the titles and some credits.

Overall, the music build up of it becoming more tense allows it to match our opening scene perfectly. 

Preliminary Task

Title Fonts

Title Fonts:

JOEL BECKFORD – ON THE RUN!

JOEL BECKFORD – ON THE RUN!

 JOEL BECKFORD – ON THE RUN!

JOEL BECKFORD – ON THE RUN!

JOEL BECKFORD – ON THE RUN!

These are the fonts we were expecting to use for are opening credits. The course cause it to stand out and make it eye catching. The fonts don't portray anything like a spy film as they are very simple and basic. We were looking for a more digital like font to portray Joel Beckfords character of a hacker spy which is unavailable using final cut pro software. Overall, this font colour is ideal for us to co make it stand out from other soy films. 

Location

Location:

We have decided to film our opening scene at The Vue car park. We have decided to do this due to its dull lighting and how quite it is. In order to make sure its quite we are going to film it late at night when there are less cars and public interference so the scene is as realistic as possible. The car park tends to be quite allowing a hostage scene to take place without anyone knowing about it The lighting gives it a mysterious effect with it being very dull in places and not in others. Also, the audience will question why a car park adn where he is being held hostage. 

Casting

Casting:

In our media opening scene we only have 3 characters. This is due to it being a hostage scene and doesn't need to many people to film the scene. Little speech is said to make the scene intense and get the audience to engage in trying to figure out how Joel Beckford ended up there. 

Jack Rundle- Joel Beckford

Jack will play the main character being held hostage. This is feedback taken from our focus group on making the main character male. Jack is very confident in himself meaning it will be easy for him to take up the main role and adapt it as his own. 

Josh Worrall- Bodyguard 

Josh will play a bodyguards keeping Joel Beckford hostage. We picked Josh to play the bodyguard as he is very tall and his will make the villain be very intimidating. Josh is very serious meaning he will stick to his role. Josh will be wearing a pair of sunglasses in order to stick to the convention of a bodyguard as well as being bulky unit.

Luke McKendry- Villain

I will be playing the villain interrogating Joel Beckford and in charge of the bodyguard. I will be wearing a suit to show my importance and dominance as well as a main speaking role. i am the perfect fit as my contrast in height to the bodyguard is a convention from the genre as well as  being very confident to play the role.

Jack Davenport- Camera man/By stander

Jack will be the main camera man rotating around the cast not in the scene so everyone can say they recorded a part of the opening sequence. Jack was assigned this role based on knowledge of camera shots, angles and movements. We also assigned him a by stander role just so we could add another character to help improve our narrative.

Storyboard- Joel Beckford- On The Run

Focus Group

Analysis Of Opening Credits- James Bond Skyfall

Analysis Of Opening Credits- James Bond Skyfall

Timing:

The timing of the animation scene to James Bond Skyfall consists of the sequences being in time with the music. For example the louder parts of the song (Adele Skyfall) has more intense animations with them either being of quick pace or involving something intense. However, the softer parts of the song are on the more calm/ mysterious situations in the sequence. This is done to reflect the  mood of the part of sequence and inflect it on the audience. Timing is key here as the opening credits show as the opening scene leaves clues and hints to future events in the film with where they take place and the action that happens. 

Timing used at the start of the sequence where Bond falls into the water starts the whole credits off leading off from the opening scene. As he hits the water the song starts away to signify its a separate scene.

Style:

Not just Skyfall but most Bond films have these unique unusual credit scene. They use unique patterns, shapes and odd scenarios in animation form. This is a trademark thing remarked with the bond franchise. However, these animations include clues to what happens later in the film or past references. For, example in this credit scene there are a lot of scenes involving graveyards. This links to James Bond's childhood house where there is a graveyard and this is where the finale takes place. This leads to M dying which was a significant part of the film and highly unexpected. However, this was referenced as a clue to the audience that it was key to remember. This helps draw in the audience from start to finish with the high intense opening scene and then the credits giving clues (strongly linked with the franchise) for future events making the audience keep focus to link it back. Another, example is the Chinese dragons seen in the opening credits and later they end up in shanghai on a mission. This signifying the importance of the credits having a huge entertainment factor later on in the film.

Names:

These appear on screen by fading them in and out. The text is white and bold as well as eligible so everyone can read the name. However, people who played a more important role get more credit. For, example Daniel Craig And Judie Dench were the main actors and very well known in the film. Their names were central of the screen so they got recognition and that is where the eyes are drawn too. The director got the same treatment. However, the other jobs i.e. a location production manager wouldn't get the same amount of credit as he didn't have a bigger role as them.

Sound: 

The sound is all Non-Diegtic throughout using a song. Adele Skyfall was the song chosen. This is seen throughout the whole bond franchise to gain recogination to the movie and promote it as well as promote the artist. This is because most Bond film tracks end towards the top end of the music charts and relates back to the film. This gains more revenue for the franchise as well as being a tradition with many big artist taking on the roll.

However, the diegtic sound is used at the beginning to fish the opening scene where bond falls in the water knocked out as you hear the water move and his body crash into the water.

Conclusion:

The credits for all James Bond films are used to gain audience attention and keep them entertained and draw them in further after the intense opening scene. This done by giving clues, amazing aminations, song choice and seeing who play who.

Target Audience Survey

Spy Genre Target Audience Research

I asked for Gender in order to see which gender was the most popular. Stereotypical it was still male. I didn't ask for age due to all age categories being interested in spy films as they have been popular through the decades with all age groups.

Next i asked what genres they liked. This gave me an idea with what audience i was dealing. Spy and action were both popular making it easy to stick to the main stream spy films with all conventions being able to be used. Comedy and romance were also included in audience favourites so some scenes will consist of this in order to give an audience a wider range of sub genres. 

Also, i asked the audience of they liked spy films considering that is what i am preparing to make an opening scene to. The majority said they did however others said they didn't. Using the previous question on favourite genre it allows me to add some scenes in order to make it meet audience needs.

In addition another question was what was the latest spy film they watched. This was asked in order to see how recent they watched one and in order to make our opening scene have a bit of all of the films opening scene in order to match up to the last and most popular spy films of recent. 

I then asked who they would like to see take the main role and due to a democracy vote it lead to a male being the mine role. This is a main convention of spy films with all secret agent spies mainly being male. 

What type of scene is best for an action scene was also key in order to get ideas. A fight or chase scene was the most popular and we have took this statistic on board be using a chase scene to be in the opening scene.

The next one was location of where they would like to see a action sequence take place with rooftop chases being top however this is not possible. We have decided to do a hostage,chase scene in a car park .

These results have been published in order for me and my group to gain an idea of how to carry out our task and have been in great use to create an idea.

Sound Analyse of Opening scene- Kingsman: The Secret Service

Sound Analysis Of Opening Scene-Kingsman: The Secret Service

The opening scene of Kingsman: The Secret Service starts withe diegtic sound between the hostage and a agent. The hostage questions why he is being held hostage and declares his innocence. This makes the audience agree with him as this is the first scene of the film and they have no clue why he is there either. This starts to create a bout of mystery. The agent  sends a colleague to get the hostage a whiskey. Then there is a knock on the door. All the agents look at each other confused to who is at the door. Music is then added (non-diegetic) creating mystery to what the heck is actually happening.

The music builds up becoming more in tense every step the agent makes.agent opens the door to a British agent who adds humor to the situation by saying 'i suppose asking to borrow a cup of sugar is a step to far'. This then leads to massive gun fight 1 versus 4. This involves the British guy the minority winning. During this scene diegtic sounds of gun fire, reloading, things falling screaming e.t.c are included in the scene to make it realistic.

The hostage is just as confused as the audience to why he is being kept hostage. The British agent confirms he is here to save him. The British agent hears footsteps from the back. He then shoots him as he enters the main room and there is a loud non-diegtic sound as the bullet hits him. He acts dead casual as if nothing happened despite taking out everyone like a ninja. The music fades out and suddenly comes back in as there is another knock occurs at the door again making the characters and the audience shocked again. 

As he slowly makes a movements towards the door and the same sound effect is used as he gets sliced in half(non-diegtic). Diegtic sound of him splitting of half is added and sounds very wet. This creates more confusion to who is at the door and who the women is that killed him. This is reflected upon by the hostages facial expression as he has no clue too to what is going on.

The women gives the hostage some towels and cuts the rope keeping him tied to the chair. You can hear her metal prosthetic leg clashing of the floor every step she takes, the same ones she used to kill the British agent, as she puts sheets over the dead body. Music tension builds up as she finally walks to the door to answer to the person stood here during the hectic scene. The music fades when his face appears. The women also acts as if nothing has happened when she says 'everything is clean' vert calmly. The scene ends there.

Overall, sound is used a lot in this opening scene to create mystery of what is going on and who is who. Also, it is done to create tension and show the in the hectic scene how action packed and intense it is too. The diegtic sound used shows the realism of what it would be like to be in that situation with true sounds i.e. gun fire. Also, the non-diegtic sound was used to spice up the scene a bit i.e. tension and mystery. The use of the empathetic sound effects adds more action to the scene.