Opening Sequence Conventions

Opening sequences in movies are very important in films, as they are the first thing the audience when watching the film. Opening sequences give the audience expectations of what is going to happen and also hook the audience into wanting to watch the rest of the film. There are many different types of opening sequences, depending on the type of genre the film is e.g Horror movies usually start with a murder in a dark and gloomy atmosphere whereas a Romance film would  usually start by showing things that represent love such as things like: love hearts, couples together and images of Cupid the Roman god of love.

The order of titles in the opening sequence always have the same layout, they start with actor playing the main character and then other names follow in order of importance, once the main cast has been shown the people people working behind set are mentioned e.g costume designers & editors, after this part the co-producers, executive and main producers are mentioned in their order of importance. Finally the writer and directors names are shown.

http://www.artofthetitle.com/media/film/2005/lord_of_war.html?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=382&width=810

In the opening sequence of the film "Lord Of War" the order of titles is in the same format that I mentioned above, also because it is an action/war film the audience are given expectations of what's to come. The film opens in a weapons factory manufacturing rifle ammunition, this immediately makes the audience think of war and violence, then in the next clip russian soldiers are shown to be in charge of the ammunition that has been made by showing the Russian soldier the audience get the idea that Russia will be a faction involved in the film, the next clip shows the ammunition now in Nigeria being handled by Liberia which sets another faction that will be involved in the film. Finally the audience is shown the bullets being used in real combat in Liberia where the opening sequence closes with one of the bullets hitting a child in the forehead, this would shock the audience and entice them to see why all of these things where happening.

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/06/30/dawn-of-the-dead/

This opening sequence is similar, to the "Lord of war" it tells a short story through short clips, while showing the crew who worked on the film.

Signed
Rob

Target Audience and an Audience Profile!

The target audience for our sequence is to be in the age range of 16 to 34 to accommodate a wider variety of ages and film tastes. For example, the younger end of this age scale will be looking towards the film as more as an entertainment medium, designed to keep them busy for a few hours whilst they socialize with their friends. The upper end of this scale is for the older, more film savvy side of an audience, who have the experience and age to recognize the contexts and themes of our film. Mainly aiming towards the lower to middle class areas of society for a wider viewing and reception from the audience. the reasoning behind this move is that lower and middle classes out number the higher, upper class of society which means that as already stated, we open up the market to a large audience base who can give a well structured and varied feedback for us to work with to improve on the next production.

There are several institutions which we have looked into so we are better able to align the sequence with an established film industry such as Hollywood or the British film industry. These institutions include films like 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Dog Soldiers and Doomsday.
Rogue studios, which was the studio that produced Doomsday, is also responsible for classic British films such as Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. These three films have a distinctive mix of Hollywood and British film traits, it is this hybridity that made them such popular films. An example of some of these traits are special effects, high budget,  A list actors and a sense of stereotyped, British society.

"For its theatrical run, the film was originally intended to be distributed by Focus Features under Rogue Pictures, but the company transferred Doomsday among other films to Universal Pictures for larger-scale distribution and marketing beginning in 2008. Doomsday was commercially released on 14 March 2008 in the United States and Canada in 1,936 theatres, grossing US$4,926,565 in its opening weekend and ranking seventh in the box office, which Box Office Mojo reported as a "failed" opening. Its theatrical run in the United States and Canada lasted 28 days, ending on 10 April 2008, having grossed US$11,008,770. The film opened in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and Malta on 9 May 2008, grossing a total of US$2,027,749 in its entire run. The film's performance in the UK was considered a "disappointing run". The film premiered in Italy in August 2008, grossing an overall US$500,000. Worldwide, Doomsday has grossed US$22,211,426."
Sourced from Wikipedia in regards to FIlm circulation of Doomsday (2008)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_(film)#Release


Rogue studios is also responsible for recent releases such as Skyline and the Warriors way. Skyline currently grossing at $17,000,000. the Warriors Way has yet to be released.

28 Days Later was a considerable success at the box office and became highly profitable on a budget of about £5 million. In the UK, it took in £6.1 million, while in the US it became a surprise hit, taking over $45 million despite a limited release at fewer than 1,500 screens across the country. The film garnered around $82.7 million worldwide.

Critical views of the film were very positive. Based on 199 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of critics gave 28 Days Later a positive review. On Metacritic, it received a 73 (out of 100) based on 39 reviews. TheLos Angeles Times described it as a "stylistic tour de force," and efilmcritic.com called it "raw, blistering and joyously uncompromising."

Bravo awarded it the 100th spot on their "The 100 Scariest Movie Moments." In 2007, Stylus Magazine named it the second best zombie movie of all time. The film also ranked at number 456 in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. Bloody Disgusting ranked the film seventh in their list of the 'Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade', with the article saying "Zombie movie? Political allegory? Humanist drama? 28 Days Later is all of those things and more – a genuine work of art by a director at the top of his game. What's so amazing about the film is the way it so expertly balances scenes of white-knuckled, hell-for-leather horror with moments of intimate beauty."

Sourced from Wikipedia in regards to film circulation of 28 days later
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_days_later#Reception

Signed Mike

Preliminary Task

This is our preliminary task, where we used multiple techniques such as the 180 degree rule and continuity.

Our task was to make a short storyboard showing a person entering a room and engaging in a conversation, however different angles had to be shown to set the scene and the characters in it.

We used the 180 degree rule, which is when the camera can only shoot from one side of the scene, without using the 180 degree rule the scene would be harder to understand and would cause the viewer to get different ideas about what is going on than intended.

While doing this task we made a big mistake, firstly there was a mistake with the filming in which we recorded all of our storyboard in one take, when we where meant to instead do it in parts and re-film those parts at different angles, this had to be done to give the viewer a clearer picture of what was happening and where.

Once we had all of our footage collected we had to edit it it down, to make it flow in real time with no pauses so it would appear more realistic.

Below is our completed storyboard which turned out quite well, as you will see it flows smoothly and sticks to the 180 degree rule.

Signed
Robert

Analysis of Chase Scenes

This video is a free-running chase scene which we have used as inspiration for our project. the inspiration comes from the cinematography used in the above clip. It is fast paced, inventing camera angles and it keeps the audience watching. it also encompasses the stunts involved, which are used with the chase scene to give it depth.


The running man serves as an example of a bloodsport which involves chasing, and killing, which stripped down to the bare minimum, is our sequence. Running man is an excellent example of how we can manipulate the sequences story to make it entertaining, as well as add the twist of large scale media coverages and popularity in the public. Its adaptability of being applicable to the various social levels through the storyline. camera work and plot twists makes it an excellent film to pull inspiration from.


The Texas chainsaw massacre chase scene at the end of the film is a typical, horror chase scene, which includes the feeling of panic the victim may be feeling through the use of cinematography, sound, props and location. The use of lighting and sound plays a heavy role in making this scene the iconic horror chase sequence and would serve its purpose as providing us with a base of knowledge and passive input to add to our own sequence to acquire the effect we with to achieve.



The Cube encompasses  the  ideal of escaping an un-winnable  maze, this is is basic principles our short scene where at least one will die and we then find out the twist is that only one will end up surviving this brutal game. Light in the cube has been designed to distort your perception. Colour connotations the classic horror film but with the twist and turns to make the audience think twice before assuming the outcome of the scene.

Signed
Mike Bolton