My Animatic

This is the animatic for my opening sequence. Be careful of the sound. It isn't great and will not appear in the final version of the sequence. But enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

3 Frame Sequence

This is my 3 frame sequence, where i took three pictures from my moodboard and adapted them into what will appear in my opening sequence.

Shot Types

1) The main production companies/ the name of the film
2) An over the shoulder shot of the main character getting punched in the face by the assassin
3) A close-up of the main character's face as the assassin talks to him
4) A reaction shot of the assassin's face when the main character refuses to help him
5) A close-up shot taking the gun out of his jacket
6) A mid-shot of the main character sitting on the seat
7) Freeze frame of the main character's face as the narration starts
8) A tracking shot of the main character's feet as he walks down the corridor
9) A mid-shot of the main character as he walks down the corridor (ends on start of neck)
10) A close-up of the main character's face as he walks down the corridor
11) A backward shot of the main character walking down the corridor
12) A pan down shot of him taking his iPod out of his pocket
13) A close-up shot of the iPod
14) A shot of the main character as he starts to walk down the stairs
15) A zoom in shot of the friend meeting the assassin outside
16) An over the shoulder shot of the friend saying about suspicions
17) An over the shoulder shot of the agent
18) Friend reaction shot of the agent's answer to the question
19) Close-up shot of the agent as he speaks to the friend
20) End of sequence

9 Shot Sequence

Main Plot Outline/ Timeline

1) The Main character gets punched in the face by an assassin who is holding him hostage/ main production companies - 15 seconds

2) The assassin questions the main character and when he refuses, he pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot him - 15 seconds

3) The screen freezes and the main character briefly narrates the story - 10 seconds

4) Titles appear as the main character walks down a corridor, wearing his school uniform, it cuts between the titles and the action - 50 seconds

5) Skip to the main character's friend talking outside the school with a secret agent guy - 25 seconds

6) End of Sequence

My Moodboard

This is my moodboard for my project. I made a mistake with this due to the fact that the moodboard is for the whole film, not just my opening sequence, so this has pictures of guns and explosions that won't appear in the opening sequence for my film.

The colours of each of these photos are quite bright because the theme of the film is quite fun light-hearted nonsense, obviously featuring a lot of car chases and gunfights in the process. But there are some moments of extreme peril that the audience will find quite intense and dark...

I haven't put any sound in this either, as i ran out of time, but i am hoping to put some sound on eventually. I like the MI High picture. It's really good.

Moviestorm Practice

This is my first ever attempt at using Moviestorm. I was quite pleased with how it turned out in the end. I didn't actually think that Moviestorm was too difficult to use. It was slightly tricky at first, but once i knew what i was doing, it was very easy to use. I liked the way we could change the different camera angles.  It was a good day, even though it started off quite slowly. 

Film Brief 1 - My Chosen Idea

I am sticking with my original idea for Film Brief 1. A teenager gets the shock of his life when he gets recruited into the British Secret Service. 

My Tagline

It is James Bond, and Stormbreaker meets Johnny English, with a little hint of M.I. High

These are the Espionage films that i am sticking with, but with the sequence, not all of them will get shown.

A Really Cool Film Name

I wanted a name that would fit with the spy genre, so i'm going to stick with Tonight or Never. But it may eventually change....

The Essential Elements For A Successful Opening Sequence For A Film

Title itself - minimalist or Logo style (appropriate for film)

Show off production values - eye-catching imagery

Name of film near the beginning of the sequence

Institutional detail - Distributor (studio) / Production company

It makes you want to watch the rest of the film

A good soundtrack, relating well to the movie

Don't let it drag out

Don't introduce too many characters/ too much story

Create an original storyline

Shadowplay Studios

I went on the art of the title website and searched through a list of the title sequences on there. I chose the Juno opening title sequence because i like the way that it has been done. It is better than the whole film put together. Anyway, the sequence was created by a company called Shadowplay Studios. Another opening title sequence that they have made is the one for Thank You For Smoking, which stars Aaron Eckhart.

The thing that i instanly recognise about going on this website, is that the layout is very simple, it isn't very hard to navigate yourself around, which some websites are like, and its also the types of films that they actually create the opening sequences for. Both Juno and Thank You For Smoking are independantly produced movies, where the budget is not as significant as a blockbuster movie.

I've also noticed that the sequences for both of their movies, is that they like to include a lot of light colours in them. The sequence in Juno is very colorful, whereas the sequence for Thank You For Smoking, is bright colours, such as red or yellow. For all of their other work as well, there never really seems to be a lot of dark colours, they are quite bright.

Stormbreaker Opening Sequence

Titles

Sarah Bolger

Robbie Coltrane

Stephen Fry

Damian Lewis

Ewan McGregor

Bill Nighy

Sophie Okonedo

Alex Pettyfer

Missi Pyle

Andy Serkis

Alicia Silverstone

Ashley Walters

and Mickey Rourke

Additional Martial Arts Sequences - Donnie Yen

Casting Director - Sarah Bird

Costume Designer - John Bloomfield

Hair and Make-Up Designer - Kristin Chambers

Associate Producer - Jessica Parker

Line Producer - Kevan Van Thompson

Music Composed by Alan Parker

Editor - Andrew MacRitchie

Production Designer - Ricky Eyres

Director of Photography - Chris Seager ASC

Executive Producers - Hilary Dugdale, Nigel Creen, Anthony Horowitz, Andreas Schmid

Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz - based on his novel

Produced by Marc Samuelson, Peter Samuelson, Steve Christian, Andreas Crosch

Directed by Geoffrey Sax

I like the way this sequence is done. It opens the film really well. The way the sequence opens with Alex Rider doing a class presentation about his family life, and saying that his uncle has a really boring job. It then cuts to a shot of Ian Rider escaping on a motorbike and being chased after by the villains. This is a class opening type for a secret agent film because it opens with an action scene, before it gets onto its main titles. This is an example of a film opening i shall be looking at for inspiration as i film my opening sequence.

Comic Book Openings

Comic Book Opening 1 : 30 Days Of Night




The main reason why i chose this opening sequence was because of the fact that this was one of the only comic book adaptions, which have some titles at the start of the movie. The eery music helps to create tension with the knowledge that something bad is going to happen.

My Chosen Idea

I have decided to stay with my idea for Film Brief 1. I was going to go with Film Brief 3, but to shoot it all would be a difficult job. The opening sequence is not set on College grounds, so it would be hard to find a location to film. Also, it would be harder for the cast members to travel because some might not have enough free time as what some of the other cast members have. With Film Brief 1, the opening Sequence is set at on a school environment, so we can use the College grounds. It would make it easier for me to shoot the film, and for the cast as well, as they wouldn't have to travel.

My Logo

This is my logo for my production company. Shaw Productions. I like the font and animation, but i don't know why my soundtrack includes a camera, when the production company logo is a guitar. All the proper free sound websites were blocked, and this was the only sound effect that never involved a conversation. 

My Pitch Feedback

Brief 1 - Good idea, based on something else, but if worked on, it could be well done and original. Possible good idea, some problems in feedback, but good idea. Good idea, believable plot for younger audience. 

I think this feedback was reasonable. I know what happens in the sequence, but it's really hard to explain in a few words, so that's why it seems like an over-used idea. I am hoping to make the sequence enjoyable and hoping people would like it.

Brief 2 - I never made a film idea for this, so there wasn't anything people could give me feedback for. 

Brief 3 - Good potential, could be easy to film. Based on a classic movie, needs to live up to that standard. Lots of potential, but not too well thought out. A bit like Oliver Twist, but modern. Maybe with a little twist. 

I think the feedback for this brief was good. I like the way it's already been compared to different films, such as Oliver Twist, but this has nothing to do with it really. But i like this idea.

Brief 4 - Good idea, not much detail though. Good potential, not enough thought through for storyline, but good idea. Good story, very easy to produce.

The feedback for this sequence was good. This was my least thought out sequence, so i was expecting this sort of feedback.   

My Pitch Feedback

Film Brief 1

Film Summary

A person gets the shock of their life when they get recruited into the British Secret Sevice.

More Detail

This would feature lots of impressive gun fights, car chases and brawls. Unfortunately due to budget restrainsts, we won't be able to film them, so there's no need of explaining it. :)

Film Brief 4

Film Summary

A story about a man learning to cope with the death of his wife and the psychological breakdown he suffers because of it.

Full Plot

A man's wife went missing and supposedly died six years ago. He spends each night stalking the streets where her body was found. One day, he spots a woman who happens to look like his wife, and he follows her. Everything is not as it seems. You get the point.

Films This Could Be Compared To

1) Tell No One

Film Brief 3

Short Summary

A coming of age tale about a teenager who runs away from home in search of following his dreams, but things don't go according to plan.

Full Storyline

Life has it in for teenager Archie. At seventeen, he is unable to achieve what he wants in life. When a job interview goes wrong, his College day goes even worse, and his home life isn't even better, he decides to run away in pursuit of his dreams. He finds a place and he manages to get himself a job to sustain himself. Along the way, he encounters a whole host of characters, including the headphone kid, who teach him that following your dreams doesn't mean everything... something like that.

Films That This Could Be Compared To

1) Son of Rambow - the story of friendship
2) Flashbacks Of A Fool - the main character running away from home to do what he wants to do.
3) August Rush
4) Oliver Twist

And anything else that might be good.

Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging Opening Sequence

This is my research for Film Option 3, where the main protagonist is a teenager.

I like the way this sequence opens, throwing the audience straight into a situation. It has Georgia being followed by her dad in the car on her way to a party. She is coming as a stuffed olive. Once at the party, it has her being the only one who is dressed in a comical outfit, and she is laughed at by another girl, who is a bully. This straight away lets the audience know that Georgia is sometimes a victim of bullying.

Georgia confronts some of her friends, and in anger, she leaves the house. The opening credits then start to appear on the screen as Georgia runs home. The song is quite upbeat and the lyrics are about a girl and how lovely she is. It is a reference to Georgia's character as well. The titles also come up in girl style, with curves at the start and end of letters, and also, the i's also have bubbles on the top of them. This is the reason why i like the sequence.

Hurtwood House Opening Sequence

I chose to look at Marauders from Hurtwood House. I think the sequence is nicely done, with the different coloured backgrounds and the silhouetted figures coming across the screen. It shows that the film is going to be a heist movie because it has people stealing stuff. I found the music interesting at first, but by the end of the sequence, it started to get on my nerves. But it worked well for the type of sequence that they were going for. It seems like a good opening sequence and it would make me want to carry on watching the film because it has a sense of mystery about it, and you don't know who any of the characters are.

Thriller Opening Analysis

I did the R2-49 video, but i'm not sure how to do a link, so i'll just talk about it.

For the construction of the video, i would give it a total of 45 marks out of 60. The titles were well done. The only thing i didn't understand with the titles was the name of the film itself, but once i read through the blog, i understood that the film was called 3nigma. The soundtrack was good, it kept my attention thoughout.
The sequence also did well to build up the suspense. It made me want to carry on watching the rest of the film as well. What also worked well is that you weren't sure what to expect. One minute, it seemed like a torture flick, but the next, it seemed to be something completely different. It has a good sense of mystery about it.
There were only a few things that i found, which weren't really up to scratch. The scenes seemed quite jumpy, the camerawork was also shaky. I'm not sure if that's what they intended because there was no indication of it in their planning. I also felt that there was no sense of characters in this. You aren't sure who the characters are. Also, the name of the film was introduced at the end of the sequence, not at the middle, which meant that it looked more like a trailer or a flashback sequence than what it did as a film opening sequence.

For the research and planning on the blog, i would give them 10 out of 20. There were only a few posts on the blog, and for a group of 3 or 4 members, that isn't a significant amount of blog posts. I felt that the planning for the sequence was good, explaining everything that they wanted to achieve. It featured the title design and prop list. But it could've gone into further details, like step by step planning of what they were hoping to achieve.
There was also no research to go with the planning. There was a blog post defining a thriller and all of the different types of conventions you get with a thriller, but that was it. There was no analysis of any other film openings, which should've been there. But i do like the way they explained how they chose the title for the sequence.

My Long Road Logo Animation

This is my take on the Long Road logo made on After Effects. Enjoy!

Columbia Pictures Logo

Right. Okay. I'm not exactly sure how the bigheads at Columbia Pictures made this logo, but i'm gonna take a guess that the first thing they had sorted was the background shot of the sky. They then probably had the woman carrying the torch. They would've done some sort of animation to make the clouds move in the background.

They would've then added the fade in to the opening of the sequence, and have it zooming out from the woman's face. They would've then made sure that they would've had the company's titles created, and it fades on over the top of the woman. The soundtrack would also be created and added in at the end of the clip.

There you have it. That's how i would go about trying to re-create the sequence. I'd be surprised if i actually got it right....

Casino Royale Opening Sequence Continued

The main distribution company that sells the James Bond sequences are Sony Pictures, which used to be called Columbia Pictures. They have made films like the Spider-Man trilogy, and one of the most recent ones are Pineapple Express. The overall production company that produces the Bond films are Eon Productions.

Michael G Wilson, one of the producers of the Bond series, has been producing the films since Live And Let Die, which was made in 1973. Since then, he has produced every single Bond film. He has also written the screenplays for a number of the Bond films, including For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. He also appeared in the Bond series, even though they have largely been cameo roles. He was born in 1943 in New York City.

Barbara Broccoli is also another one of the film's producers. She is the daughter of Albert R Broccoli. She started to produce the Bond series with The Living Daylights, which was made in
1987.

The opening titles for the sequence was designed by Daniel Kleinman. He first started designing the opening titles since Goldeneye, which was made in 1995. He has designed the title sequences for the Bond films ever since then.

Continuity Task

We had to make a continuity task, involving an over the shoulder shot of a conversation. I'm the one who brings the dvd in to ask my colleague if he'd like to borrow my newest dvd. This task went well, even though we had  a problem with the sound.

Casino Royale Opening Sequence

I like the way the sequence opens with a black and white shot of James Bond picking up his gun. As he shoots, the blood comes down, the theme song starts playing and the colour of the film begins. The titles are nicely done, coming up across the screen. In the background, it has the various different shots of faded out James Bond, as he subdues some villains. The different shots of cards let the audience know what the story of the film is going to be about.

The song "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell, plays the whole time. It is a fast-paced song, which also shows the fact that the film will be quite fast paced and action packed. The sequence also shows James Bond's elevation to Double O standards. It is not important to show happen in a proper scene, so it is shown via the credits.

The sequence shows James Bond as shaded and we never really see his proper face in the sequence until right at the end, which shows he is a mysterious character. The editing is done in quick cuts, where each scene only goes on for a few seconds.

The title sequence is animated, but you get to see the face of Eva Green, who plays Vesper Lynd, and Daniel Craig, who plays James Bond. Overall, this is a very good title sequence, which keeps the viewer's attention for the duration of it.

Practice sequence

Today is the first time i have used finalcut and i am impressed with how it worked out. In this, the different techniques i used was cutting the clips into different sections and then fading it in whenever the screen changes.