Opening film sequences- analysis

To prepare for our filming of our main piece we analysed opening sequences to similar productions that have come out of Hollywood
Flight 93



Flight 93 was a 9/11 tribute filmed in 2006 allowing people gain an incite into what happened the day the twin towers where destroyed by terrorists.
The opening to film is mysterious music creating tension and suspicion, it then shows a shot of pilot getting ready to fly the plane like he would on any other day and saying goodbye to his family, it is unknown that this is the last time he will see them. The pilot is unaware of the fact that he is going to die along with passengers. Following there there is then an establishing shot showing a representation of the airport, this is done by showing a control tower and planes. After this there is a close up of a man shaving of a beard in what looks like the airport toilets, this is to the viewer is random and out of place therefore it creates a sense of unknown and tension. There are also two pilots and air hostess whom are positive and have no idea of what is going to happen once they are in the air. All passengers are unaware an cheerful, there is a shot of key props such as a 'new mothers book' allowing the viewer to understand that there is a pregnant women on board the flight and there is also a shot of a voicemail so that you know that the husband doesn't know that his wife is on that flight .

The terminal



The terminal was filmed in 2004, and is about a whom is declined entry in to America.
The film opens with minor opening credits and production company. It then has a shot if departures board to represent that is going to be based inside an airport. The board also has the title of the film on it. There is then a bus with loads of passengers showing how busy the airport is. Following this there is a shot of the security booth showing how tight security measures are. A group of Chinese people then come on the scene with forged papers and get chased by security for trying to enter the county illegally. It also shows the force of the security. Tom Hanks passport is not working and therefore he do gets declined entry and will have to stay in the airport as he can't retire to his own country due to violence and he can't enter the country because of his passport, this therefore creates the storyline. Opening finishes with Hanks standing on his own shaving in the middle of a terminal, with important people watching him.


Air force One



Air force One was filmed in 1997
Air force One starts with patriotic music playing over the credits. The credits themselves are long at the start, around three minutes. From 3:00 onwards is where we looked at the opening sequence. It starts with a major event which appears to be an assassination in Moscow, Russia which is a major event which leads on to the impact of the main story in the film - which is the hijacking of Air Force One (the President of the United States plane).
There is no evidence of the plane or airport in the opening sequence but it is the demonstration which leaves us wondering what the impact will be as a result of the event. The opening sequence is based around this major event which leads on to the point of the film - the plae hijacking.

What did you learn about the cameras and editing software during the preliminary task?

Whilst doing the preliminary task, we learnt how to use the cameras and editing software.
we learnt the basics ins and outs of the equipment and by the end were rather familiar with it. We used the tripod to steady our shots while filming. The camera had a zoom function this further increased the aspect of our shots.After a few practice shots, we found the cameras simple to use.
The editing software we used was Final Cut Pro, this software was hard to use at first but after awhile we got the hang of it. This software allowed us to cut our filming, placing each shot on the timeline in sync with each other and add music to our shots. It allowed us to make each shot run smoothly with each other. We added credits to the prelim. This made it look more like an opening scene to a film.

In the filming and editing of your project, what worked well and what could have been improved?

In the filming of our prelim we filmed different types of shots including match and over the shoulder. When it came to cutting and editing and piecing together shots, we found that each shot worked in sync smoothly. We could improve the actual shots themselves. This meaning the focus on the character and surrounding. Due to it being a practice, next time we could improve our filming and acting.

Give a detailed, specific example of how you have used a shot/ reverse shot combination in your film

In our prelim, we found the aspect of shot reverse shot difficult. We filmed shots of the conversation between noelia and keir, but the idea of shot reverse shot was difficult to be seen. This can be improved in the final task as we learnt how to do this.

Give a detailed, specific example of how you achieved match cuts during the editing process

We used a match cut when there was an image of keir getting out his phone and the and image of his phone on the table at the end of the conversation.

How did you make sure that you didn’t break the 180 degree rule? Or if you broke it, what have you learnt from this?

While filming we made sure we filmed from the same side each time. This made sure that we did not break the rule.

Preliminary Filming Evaluation

What did you learn about the cameras and editing software during the preliminary task?

The preliminary task was a great opportunity for us to get use to the equipment and software we would be using for our final piece. we also were able to explore many different camera angls and shots.

Our Preliminary Film - Experiencing the equipment and editing software

Before going ahead to do our main production - we do some preliminary filimg to create a short film so we could get used to the equipment and using Final Cut Pro on the Mac's.

Our intended story line was surrounding two best friends (Noellia and Keir) talking about Keir's date at the cinema the previous night and he is anxiously waiting for a call back from the girl.

We started the filming with Keir and Noellia walking across the road from outside the Church over to College and through the gates. We wanted to practice a variety of shots following people walking in preparation for our intended final piece which we would need them for. So we did a panning shot following them across the road and we filmed that in three different shots - Long shot, medium shot and close up so we had more flexibile options in editing. We used the medium shot and the close up shot in the final piece for the panning walk across the road. The problem arose that the traffic flowing was going to be different in every shot - so we had to cut the editing to either side of the road, missing out them crossing so we could make it all connect seamlessly. The panning shots were a bit quick or slow at times in the shots so we weren't always in time with Noellia and Keir walking in the shots - but in the final edit, we think it works well with the variety we used.

We did a steady zoom out to follow to Noellia and Keir walking through to gate toward the camera and with the use of continuity editing - we did a zoom in following them from the same position the shot ended through the door to one of the buildings on college campus. We kept the camera rolling as they walked in the building to show them walking around the corner from a distance which we could use for continuity in the next shot inside the building showing them turning the same corner. The problem with the final version of the prelim filming is the zoom we did looks very amateurish and would never be seen in a real production.
When they were walking in to the cantene having turned the corner - Noellia and Keir were directed to sit down on the chairs and we would film them. However a classic filming mistake - we had them sitting down one way and then filmed the conversation from the other way - we didn't realise this until we sat down to begin editing. We tried to make it seem less obvious with the methods of shots used - but it was definitely a mistake we should have re-shot whilst filming.

We wanted to have different perspectives of the conversation from different angles - but with only one camera, we knew this would be a struggle. We initially filmed Noellia and Keir front on so we could see both of them clearly and then over both of their shoulders. We did this so we could use them in editing - giving us a variety of options. We were able to use shot reverse shots and two shots this way - allowing us to work with a variety in the editing. We found it really hard to get a decent zoom from Keir throwing the phone down to the screen - so we decided to film a 15 second shot of the call incoming itself - this way we were able to use an eyeline match, rather than an amateur zoom. The story behind the phone being thrown down is that Keir was hoping and expecting it would be the girl calling but it was instead his 'Mummy' - which we thought would be fun and cute.

We didn't want to leave the long walking shots boring and blank so we decided to add music over the top which in the end, we added to the full product. We used "Florence and the Machine - Dog Days" and we were able to make it work really well with the walking and the Blackberry incoming call from 'Mummy' at the end. We really struggled to choose appropriate music and spent 30-45 minutes searching for appropriate options and Noellia suggested this song we used and it worked great with it. The voices in the conversation didn't sound all too good on their own - so we reduced the volume to -21db so it was still playing faintly over the background and it seems to have worked fine with the conversation, but we would have preferred that scene to look much better. We them upped the volume to 3db over the final shots of the Blackberry and the credits with it slowly fading out over the final 8 seconds of the credits.

We created the credits using the "Scrolling Text" feature in the Final Cut Pro Effects - they work great for this prelim and we named ourselves "VEKS Productions" - Vicky, Emma (Noellia), Keir and Scales (Jason's surname) Productions. "VEKS" to us both looks and reads well to us and hopefully it will to others.

This is our final prelim video showing our story line of Keir and Noellia talking about Keir's date the night before and the girl not calling back. We had fun making and editing it - we feel good having taken a bunch of shots in a normal video camera to this final production and it being our first and now we've done our prelim and the editing associated with making it - we will hopefully be able to transfer that experience to making our final piece.

Jason,noelia,vicky and keir