Inspiration for Script

Another inspiration for my improvisational script is the American comedy film, Best In Show, directed by Christopher Guest.
This script for this film is hugely improvisational and inspires me to make my opening sequence in this style as the film is also in the genre of comedy.
Christopher Guest writes a synopsis of what he wants the character to be like and the characters adlib when the film is being shot. This is how I would like to direct my film.

Inspiration for Script

I have taken inspiration from the British sitcom Outnumbered, directed and produced by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin.
The sitcom is known for semi- improvisational scripting which makes the storyline more realistic.
I feel that my opening sequence will seem more realistic and natural if I were to use this type of scripting as it does not resrict the actors in any way.

Research for Scipt

In order to keep the opening sequence original and natural I would prefere not to have a written script for the actors. I would like to give them guidelines on what will happen in the scene but not restrict them on what to say. This could make the opening sequence much funnier as the scene will appear natural which will include their own facial expressions and will be able to fulfill the genre of a comedy film.
In order to prompt my actors, I will sketch the camera angles and place a few guidelines on the main things that will happen such as at the end when the woman tells the man that she would like a divorce.

Sequence timeline

I created a sequence timeline for the film Catch Me If You Can from the art of the title website. I did this so that i can use this as a guideline when making my opening sequence. The timeline shows how long each name of the cast and the film crew lasts for which will help me when creating my opening sequence as I will know the different job descriptions to invole in my opening sequence eg. the producer and the camera operator.

Analysis of an opening sequence 2

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/01/14/casino-royale/
This is an analysis of the flm Casino Royale.
At the beginning of the scene, the audience hears a non- diegetc sound of a simple tone and we see a wide shot of James Bond bending down to get a gun from the floor, the camera cuts to show a man lying on the floor injured and then the audience hears a non diegetic sound of the man squirming in pain as  he struggles to reach for the gun then another fast pace cut is shown of James Bond quickly turning and shooting the man (Diegetic Sound). This part of the scene is somewhere in the film and not the beginning as the audience does not know the story behind what is happening, it just shows what type of film it is and what the film is mostly about. The beginning of the scene is in black and white which could link to the traditional films of James Bond in the previous time periods. As the audience hears the diegetic sound of James Bond pulling on the trigger, it becomes a queue for non- diegetic sound of music in the background and someone singing.
As James Bond is shooting at the man it appears that he is shooting at the audience as the camera zooms him out and a decoration around him which appears in the shape of a spiral which makes it seem like the audience are looking at James Bond through something. Then the audience sees blood driping down which eventually covers the whole screen and creates a background for the titles to pop up on the screens. After the names are presented, shapes of playing cards appear on the screen in a spiral form and the name of the film Casino Royale appears in the middle of the screen. The shapes of the cards create a spiral and move in a circular motion to create an optical illusion of psychedelic shapes. This relates to the fact that Jmes Bond is a traditional film as optical illusions developed in the 60's. The shapes of the cards create movement and appear as if the camera is moving towards the right, then the audience sees a silhouette of a man which is James Bond putting a bullet which is in the shape of a spade inside the gun and shooting at someone. There is also an animation of a king which appears on cards shooting at someone with James Bond. The patterns in the background of cards and shapes linkto the title of the film as cards are used at a casino and relate to chance which is how card games work but could also link to the chance and luck of James Bond or the criminals.
The animations then change to two silhouettes fighting and different silhouttes getting shot at and bleeding, this shows the audience that it is an action film and that violence would be a key fact in the film. Then on the screen appears writing in digital format saying 'James Bond -007 status verified' which finally gives away to the audience that James Bond is a spy which carries out missions.
A silhouette of a man walks towards the audience until he becomes a close up and the animations slowly fade away as he turns to real life and then the audience sees that it is James Bond but then quickly changes back into silhouette which shows that James Bond is hiding his identity to carry out his mission. This opening seuene shows what the film will be about without saying too much and giving too much of the story away.

Analysis of an opening sequence

Two Can Play That Game opening sequence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xvbuGej-n8
I have analysed the first 2minutes and 4 seconds of this film as i will be filming an opening sequence for 2 minutes in my main task.
Two can play that game falls into the genre of comedy. I chose this because it has a range of camera shot, editing, sound and mise en scene in the opening seqence.
At the beginning of the film, the audience hears a non- diegetic sound of urban, jazz, upbeat music and then a birds eye view of a busy city is shown with very tall work builings. The audience then relates the upbeat music to the life of the city which is in America. The jazz music also indicates that the film will be about grown maybe sophisticated people as jazz music attracts mostly an older generation.
To show the different buildings, fading editing has been used instead of cuts and high key lighting is being used as it is during daytime. As the audience sees this, they also start to hear a fade in of diegetic sound of a woman having a conversation about someones partner then there is a cut showing a wide shot of her sitting in an office. The woman is sitting in an office chair on the phone and she is the only person in the office which tells the audience that the office belongs to her and she is of a high status in the workplace.
As the woman comes off the phone there is a tracking shot which moves in towards the woman and then a mid shot is shown of her talking to the audience. There is also a diegetic sound of her wobbling the papers tomake them tidy as she talks to the audience. A close up shot of the phone is shown as it is ringing which tells the audience that she is a busy business lady. As the woman walks around in her office and talks to the audience there are cuts which show her movement fro one part of the office to another. Towards the end of the scene a long shot is shown of the woman walking across to the mirror, the shot shows the costume, she is smartly dressed wearing a green suite which shows that even though she is proffesional, she is still stylish, Her gold jewellery suggests that she is earning good money as it looks expensive. She is also wearing a black top inside her suite which shows abit of clevage to express her femininity and this is emphasised with an over the shoulder shot showing her standing infront of a mirror which represents her to the audience that she is an attractive independant woman earning money.

Film Genres 2 (questionnaire and results)

Most of  the 30 responses were from teachers but also from students. They were sent out to the teachers and I asked students individually to take part in answering the questionnaire. This means that most of the answers are likely to be biased and be from a target audience of a higher age.

From the 30 responses, Will Smith was a popular choice for a favourite actors. Will Smith acts in films that mostly fall under the genre of Comedy and Action such as Hitch and I Am Legend.

 Angelina Jolie is a popular choice for favourite actress and she is in films that mostly fall in the genre of Action such as Mr and Mrs Smith.

 The favourite director among the 30 responses is Steven Speilberg. He created films such as Twighlight.

 The genre most people like to watch is Comedy. This means that if I created my film under the comedy genre, it is likely to attract a larger target audience.

Research into film genres

I have done some research into 5 film genres and taken some information from wikipedia about what the genres involve.

Horror- Horror films tend to get a negative emotional reaction from the viewers by playing on the audience's fears. The scenes often startle the audience through the means of macrabre and the supernatural. Examples of a horror film is Paranormal Activity, The Ring, Saw.

Comedy- Comedy emphasises mainly on humour. They are mostly light -hearted dramas and are made to entertain and amuse the audience. Examples of a comedy film is Date Night, Rush Hour, Coming to America.

Kids/ Universal- This genre of film is aimed at entertaining children or young audiences. It is usually rated U and has simplistic content that is age appropriate.Many films underneath this genre involve fantasy elements and imagination.
Many of these films are animated and contain a moral message or a plot which illustrates good overcoming evil. Examples of  Kids/ Universal films are: Cinderella, Aladdin and Princess and the frog.

Musical- This is a genre where songs are sung by the characters and added into the narrative which is sometimes accompanied by dancing. Examples of a musical film are: Marry Poppins, The sound of Music and Dream girls.

Teen- This is a genre that is targeted at teenagers or young adults. The films involves the lifestyle of teenagers such as first loves, rebellion, conflivt with parents and alienation which are often presented in a stereotypical way. The films also include sexual themes, nudity and crude forms of humour. Examples of a teen film are: Twighlight, Harry Potter and The Inbetweeners.