The first film opening we focused on with him was 'Catch Me If You Can' we specifically looked at how the titles were revealed and how the order at which they are shown is not random but carefully thought out. Also we found out that certain actors will request that their names are shown at a specific point, (e.g. before the film title.) This is due to their lawyers and others making sure that it is in their contract.
Pete Fraser then showed us this image above which is a picture of a timeline showing when specific titles came up and the order in which they came up and this further proves that they are not random and that when we are creating our film opening that we should concentrate and take care when deciding upon and adding the titles into the sequence.
After looking at how titles are added, we then discussed how you don't have to reveal the main characters in the opening sequence in order to portray across the idea and narrative of the film. A great example of this is in the opening of the film 'Dawn of the Dead'. In this opening it uses flashes of zombies and what seems like news broadcasting filming mixed with shots of petri dishes and over voices talking about the zombies and a disease. By doing this the audience is still able to tell that this is a horror film and that the film will be about defeating the zombies but doesn't reveal the whole narrative. Another point that we learnt through this opening sequence was that the font and animation that goes with the titles is key to further revealing the genre, which was shown in 'Dawn of the Dead' as the titles were made of blood.
The final part of the talk from Pete Fraser was him giving us 'Top Tips' on what to do and what to avoid when creating our final film opening piece. Whilst he was telling us that the small things add up to get you better marks he went through these nine steps for success:
The final part of the talk from Pete Fraser was him giving us 'Top Tips' on what to do and what to avoid when creating our final film opening piece. Whilst he was telling us that the small things add up to get you better marks he went through these nine steps for success:
- Take Stock- So we need to think about what the task set is and how it will be assessed, what equipment we will need and what our time frame is.
- Blog- We should continue to blog and keep evidence of everything we do, even if it is just explaining what you did that day in class.
- Work on Skills- So that when we get to our final piece we are prepared, beforehand you should practice working with the camera, editing software and creating the sound through foley.
- Investigate- We should look at film openings from the genre that we have decided upon for research and look at successful student examples to get an idea of what quality ours should be. Also we should be aware of the titles and think about how our film can be original.
- Brainstorm- To get all our ideas together in a group we should brainstorm and present short pitches, react to feedback given to you and remember to be realistic in your expectation.
- Planning- Plan what props, costumes ect. that you might need and think about what risks might be involved in your filming. Also experiment with your shots and lighting so you can get the best one and we need to think about logistics.
- The Shoot- Make sure to have everyone and everything in the right place at the right time, rehearsed and prepared to be directed by others and keep a record of the filming while you go.
- Editing- Continue to take screen grabs for evidence on the computer of your editing, listen to feedback from others and make sure you clean up the sound, lighting and use more than just a song in the background.
- Evaluation- Follow guiding questions and look in depth at your final piece.
His final key points before he left were:
- Plan everything
- Keep all evidence
- Avoid the obvious
- Pay attention to detail
- Make your blog varied
- Learn from other pieces of work