Evaluation (1)

Evaluation Question 1:
In what ways does my opening sequence use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real opening sequences?

Written Version:

The purpose of a film opening is to engage the audience to carrying on watching more of the film.  A film opening sequence should give away small parts of the film like the characters and genre. 

When I compare my finished product (my film opening sequence 'Buried') to a real Hollywood opening sequence, I believe it conforms to, and makes use of, many of the conventions of a real media product, but I also feel that it challenges some of the conventions by combining many genres.

When I first set out to make my opening sequence I knew that I wanted to make an Action/Thriller.  I wanted to take some of the conventions typically seen in Action Films (where there is usually some aspects of violence, weapons, fighting, stunts or struggle) and cross them with the those belonging to Thrillers (eg. suspense, tension, audience-engagement, and an element of uncertainty for the audience).

Examples of where I have used and developed the conventions of Action films would include the use of a gun, the choice of camera angles, and the stunt where the character Davy knocks out the person in the body-bag with a shovel.  I have also colour-graded the film to give it a dark and gritty look often associated with Action films.  Also I have used the editing stage to change the pace by using different techniques such as cutting, splicing and carefully adjusting each clip in the style of the Action genre.

The conventions of a Thriller are developed through the use of sound and music which creates the mood of a thriller with a very intense soundtracks with a steady build up to add suspense.  Another convention is the mise en scene of the forest location and the storyline which contains two moments/twists to keep the audience engaged and guessing what might happen next.

Through my evaluation of the finished product, and by talking with some of people that have watched my opening sequence, I would also say that I have additionally managed to include some of the convention and subject matter typically explored in  another genre - the Black Comedy - at least at the very end of the sequence where the phone is seen ringing from inside the body-bag.  Most of the people who have watched my film laugh at this moment even though the situation faced by the character ‘Jones’ is serious.

Black comedies are films or plays which include things in life that we would usually consider to be very serious (like death, murder or illness) yet they cover these things in a funny or humorous way to make light of the situation presented.

I think another way in which I have challenged the normal conventions of an opening sequence is that I have included a lot of dialogue and a lot of story/plot in my product - it is almost like a short film.  Opening sequences are often (but not always) used to only set the general mood, atmosphere and tone of the main film that is to follow, and do not usually contain so much of the story.  However I wanted to really challenge myself, and to try out some of the things I have been researching so I decided to try to present a more complex situation within my opening sequence which would include a long conversation between the two main characters.  I believe that this also easily engages the audience from the outset, the story is clear and concise (not long and complicated like some opening sequences) and gets the audience thinking 'what is going to happen now'?  One of the comments I was really pleased about was someone saying that my opening sequence shared similar characteristics to James Bond movies, where you almost get a mini-film before the titles and the main story.

At the end of the opening sequence we are left with a simple title which reads “(Two Days Earlier)".  My idea is that the main film, after my opening sequence, could show the series of events that have led up to events already seen in the opening sequence.  So we are seeing the conclusion of the film at the very start!

The purpose of Titles in a opening sequence is to inform the audience of who helped in the making and production of the film.  This overall convention I have followed as I believe it is important, but I have also tried to make interesting use of the credit titles in an effort to challenge the standard and conventional way in which titles are often used when they are simply overlaid on top of the action on screen.  I wanted to try to use my titles in a way that they appear to be somehow appearing inside the world I am introducing on screen so that they are integrated and do not cover up or get in the way of the action.  I hope it sets a unique and stylish tone for the rest of the film.

My first idea here was to physically write (or scratch with a knife) the names of the actors and production crew onto tree trunks or stones found in the forest at my location and to film these.  However I thought that this idea might make some of the important credits difficult for viewers to read clearly.

Instead I tried another idea which can be seen in two sections of my opening sequence, first when the camera appears to be rising up through the earth, I have timed the overlaid credits to roll downwards the screen at the same speed as the camera is rising up, almost as if they are also buried in the ground along with the skeleton.  Then later, once the camera has broken through to the surface and as each character first appears on screen, I have overlaid the name of the Actor in such a way that as the credited actor walks across the screen they wipe-out their own title.  I managed to do this using a software called After Effects, and carefully masking out the letters and titles frame-by-frame in time with the action.  I am very pleased with this effect and feel it is quite inventive and effective.

I hope this information explains how I have used, developed and also challenged the usual forms and conventions used in opening sequences?