Opening sequence 2- class feedback

 I pitched my idea if the drunk driver crashing the car and killing his friends to the class, and the feedback I received was very productive.

1. How will the story continue if they all die- the driver will remain alive and the film will be about him going back to school and work with the guilty consciousness of a murderer. He will struggle with life until and go to councillors meetings to cope with the mental pain.

2. How will I present an animal in the road- it will be a front view of the drivers face as he sees a small animal in the road, swerves and crashes the car (the animal is not shown on camera)

3. How will I do a car crash- have the driver swerve and have a black screen and then fade into the accident or change angle of the car so we see the back end swerve for a split second (close up of the back wheels perhaps)

4. Am I going to fit this in 2 minutes- yes as setting the scene of the drunk lads should take about 20 seconds and then have them get into the car, the hesitation before driving can be 15 seconds, and the actual driving would be about 30-40 seconds of cuts and music, until they crash, which will be another 30 seconds of the close ups of the boys, and the drinks and end on the car radio screen.

Opening sequence idea 2 (lockdown lessons)

 Set at a campsite (log cabin) or abandoned site (building site)

It’s late in the evening and the boys are drinking and listening to music laughing, they get a text to come home as it’s late and they get into the car

One is very drunk and can’t drive so the learner driver says he can drive everyone home and that they done need to call a cab

There will be a long shot and a pause of silence to foreshadow the danger that will inevitably occur

They agree and get into the car

There is a long shot and medium shot of the two boys helping their drunk friend into the car

As the driver gets in, their is a shot that follows him through into the car and pans from the passenger seat back to his face

Close up of the drivers face to show visible confusion to how to drive the car, SRS, eye-line match cut

He starts the car and it shrieks forward, the camera who’ll start at the front lines and cut to the front wheels and track it for a short distance and then tilt up and pan with the car out of the campsite

The boys will be in the car laughing to the music while one is practically unconscious.

Loud music with close ups of the cars steering wheel, radio, dash mirror and close ups of the boys having a good time. This adds tension as the fast ish paced cuts give unnaturally close detail making the audience uncomfortable.

Am animal, not clear to identify, will run In front of the car and cause the driver to swerve, which topples the car into a ditch/ crash into a tree or bush (whichever is easier to shoot)

Hand held shot in the car which is very unsteady to show danger

The music will still be playing but fade slightly as the screen switches shots between the campfire at the camp and the bottles of beer and the boys who have cut heads and bleeding noses (unconscious and dead)

Can either fade into a black screen or end with the mum calling the phone.

Monday the 9th January Diary entry

 Today was our first media lesson back from the Christmas Holiday. It’s wasn’t like the normal lessons we have as we are currently in tier 5 lockdown, which means we are having online classes through Microsoft Teams as school are closed across the UK for the next 5 weeks (presumably). As everything is online, my other classes and activities such as dance and theatre are also through zoom/ Microsoft teams etc... 

Today our media teacher Becky talked to us about what is going to happen regarding our classes and practical projects such as our opening sequence. We hope that we will be back at school in time to film and edit our videos, however, if we are unable to return our task at hand is to come up with another media opening sequence idea that is more COVID friendly- socially distanced, no contact, fewer people on set, different locations to avoid populated areas. We are then going to pitch these ideas to our class on Tuesday and Wednesday to practice our presentation skills as well as receive feedback to improve our ideas. After the presentation the other students will ask about my idea, to which I will need to answer their questions or explain the plot. This will be good preparation for the upcoming presentation where we explain our final idea for the opening sequence through Powerpoint/ story board to our Becky and some of the other media teachers. 

Steve Neale's theory/ Barthe's Enigma codes

 

Impacts of technology on the film industry

 

Opening sequence creation notes

 Make either sci-fi opening sequence or murder mystery

Use Nosas purge mask and black tracksuit for the lamp shot

Music should fade in not be sudden

Make the video long takes/ slow editing

Learn a new skill such as visual effects editing and photo shop as a group

Possibly mix our own music

Music themed like guardians of the galaxy

Over shoulder shots with reflection of knife

Build a sci-fi set/location in studio if needed

Set the murder mystery in road with street lamp

Always story board and pre shot the angle and scene to see if it’s possible

Use extreme long distance shots (for running shot)

Only think about the opening sequence, not the story of the whole film

Opening sequence analysis

 Rocket man Opening sequence analysis

 

The film opening starts with nearly 2 minutes of calming piano as logos from other companies appear on the screen (thanking other film/distribution companies). We then fade into a title of ‘Rocket Man’ and Elton John (played by Taron Egerton) swings open 2 doors and the title is dispersed into a glittery shower.

This represents Elton as confident and flamboyant. Through the long shot, we can see his long, confident strides and his over the top costume, this supports his representation of his confidence. Elton being in the centre of the screen highlights that he is the main focus of attention and that he is important. The backlight and dramatic music along with the slow zoom in of the camera lense add to the intensity Elton is giving throughout this long take.

 

The camera then cuts to him confidently walking his way into a rehabilitation group, but we get a close up of his face which is more concerned then confident. He immediately stands out from the rest of the members and the background as he is dressed in a colourful, glittery costume with wings and horns whereas the others are in dark clothing against a bleak background wall. The silence and slow tracking shot emphasises him being an oddity as he is the only one standing and being stared at. This alienation is expected as he is a stereotypical homosexual man during the time period the film is set in (50’s to 80’s). Homosexual men were pictured as camp, over dramatic/ expressive people who dressed with a more feminine manner in flamboyant colours. He is also a non stereotypical male for the time as he isn’t working to provide for a family (wife and kids) and doesn’t have a physical labour job. This alienation that Elton suffers is shown through his facial expression during his monologue as he talks about his imperfections during a slow zoom in, which allows the audience to connect to his suffering and victimisation.

The target audience for this film are people aged 40-60 as that is the age group that grew up with Elton and his music. The audience also might be the LGBTQ community as Elton is a homosexual and an idol to those in the LGBTQ community. The LGBTQ community consists of fairly young people 20 onwards, which expands the films audience by quite a large number. Although the film features people of different ethnicities, the most obvious audience nationality group to watch the film would be English people as Elton is an English songwriter and the film is shot in English dialogue. The film consists of several dance and music numbers which attracts theatrical/ musical people. The film is a journey through Elton Johns life which particularly shows his use of drugs and alcohol. This feature in the film could also attract people who have had/ have a similar life style. 

 

The narrative of the opening sequence is told through the use of media language and setting and dialogue. At first when Elton enters the rehab meeting, several enigma codes are brought up by the audience, such as; why is he in rehab? Why is he addicted to drugs, alcohol, sex etc…?, how did he get to this point in his life?. The effect of these enigma codes are positive as they gain the audiences interest and hook the audience into the story as they want to find the answer to the questions that have been raised.

The story/ plot line of the film is revealed at the beginning. We can tell the film will consist of flashbacks events as Elton hallucinates his younger self during the rehab meeting which is the take off point of the musical film. We also understand that the film will take the audience on a journey through Eltons life as he talks about his life and career in the meeting, which is what instigates the flash back. 

 

‘Rocket man’ is a musical and drama themed film which has a sub genre of biographical films. The opening sequence shows these genres to the audience by including dramatic and a musical scene. The dramatic scene is the rehabilitation meeting as the piano stops to add suspense, the surrounding is bland to create a depressing tone and the dialogue tells the audience of Eltons dramatic life story. After this we go into our first song as we track through the doors outside into a dance and song number ‘Bitch is back’. The film fits into Steve Neale’s film theory as it starts as a classical drama and musical, but slightly steers away from the original concept of the two genres as it pushes the boundaries of musical as it isn’t a family friendly film due to the drugs, sex, violence and alcohol. It also uses new camera and editing techniques which open a whole new idea of musical based films as it goes even further to deviate from the realistic features other film genres have e.g. drama is realistic whereas ‘Rocket man’ has unrealistic editing such as Elton’s flying scene.