Friday, 13 December 2013
Brainstorming Overview
We were able to get the scanner to work, this enabled us to publish our brainstorming ideas. The presentation is not the best but this is because the notes were made quickly and we all got our ideas down, it was the first try of us to get our ideas down on paper in order for us to make a plan.
How the opening could pan out
Ideas of how the film opening sequence could pan out, some ideas for different shots.
Brainstorming of Characters
This is brainstorming for character ideas. There are some conventional character ideas and we could also change these as they are just stereotypical ideas.
Brainstorming for Genre and Elements
Some evidence of brainstorming that was completed a long time ago
Brainstorm for Location
This is a brainstorm that was completed to give us some ideas of where we could film our opening sequence. We decided to film it at Joe's Dads lighting shop.
Font Testing
Font Testing
In order to make sure that I am well prepared to do the editing I have looked as some possible fonts that I could use as the basis of my font for either title of the film or the credits. The different fonts could connote different tones. I am not yet sure as to what font I am going to use or if I am going to use a variety of them for the titles and credits.
Friday, 6 December 2013
Sweeney Todd Opening Sequence
Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber on Fleet Street
The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, known as Sweeney Todd, played by Johnny Depp. He sets up a barber shop in London and this becomes the basis of a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant Mrs Lovett, it is based on the hit Broadway musical.
The opening sequence of the film is not one full of action that grabs your attention as such but it puts you on the edge of your seat eager to watch the film. It sets the tone and allows the audience to adjust to what is due to come next.
SOUND: Firstly I focused on sound both diegetic and non-diegetic. Throughout the whole opening sequence there is some form of music over the top. It is eerie, yet still upbeat in some points it changes to more sharp and high pitch. The high pitch sounds of violins almost sound as though someone is rubbing metal against metal. The sounds are very aggressive and could suggest to the audience that it is going to be a violent film, someone could die by the use of a sharp object, to go along side the sharp sound. The background track is not smooth it is jumpy and quickly changes tone and pitch. The organ ranges from high to really low sounds that create a tense atmosphere telling the audience that it is a horror film. There is also a lot of range of volume used as well, at some point is it really loud and other points you can barely hear it but it is still there in the background.
Then there is the digetic sound, this is the sound that you would hear if you where there. You can hear the sound of the clogs turning and as if someone is pulling levers, this has the effect of eeriness and spookiness. You can hear the blood dripping, this tells you that it is definitely going to have some horror and gore in it, also helping establish the genre. Uproar of fire and crackling of something burning, this sounds dark and cold yet the fire that you can see is warming. The fire could be seen as good to keep people warm but yet it could connote violence and something burning or dying too. Then comes the slamming off the oven door with the fire still crackling away underneath but not as loud, the slam of the door shocks the audience as it is louder then the sound of crackling fire. The way the door shuts very fast and the booming noise that it makes reminds the audience of the violent and horror that is in the film. By being able to hear running water, with blood mixed in, lets you know that you are going to be somewhere else when the film starts as you have traveled with the water. The noise is quite distracting and makes people feel on edge as the rushing of water is frantic.
EDITING: The blood that runs throughout the whole of the opening sequence has been edited, it has been saturated making it look unrealistic. It is bright red and does not look real at all. There is only one reason for this, they do not want people to take it too seriously, by using blood that doesn't look real it could show that it is meant to be comical. The brightness of the red also contrasts with the rest of the scenes being so dark. The blood looks gooey and moves extremely slowly, when it does change pace it is linked in with the music and as the blood runs faster the music becomes faster too. This re insures the idea that the blood and the shrilling sounds could connote someone being killed. The credits are all in white, contrasting the dark backgrounds behind, this makes them stand out and are therefore easier to read. The main title of the film is in the same red as the blood as shown below.
SHOTS:
There is an establishing shot that allows the audience to locate where the film is set. It also then moves to a shot that makes you feel as though you are in the film, it is looking out of a window and you can see the rain falling. By doing this you immediately feel as if you are connected to the movie before it has even started and introduced a character. The wide shot, to establish where you are, that then zooms in to look through a window and focuses on a central piece makes sure you know that you are supposed to be looking at the central piece, the chair. The camera then does a tracking shot of the blood throughout the whole time the blood is running, by doing this it reinforces that the blood is the main focus and the genre is horror or crime. There is one shot where it is tracking the blood and then the floor drops, this means for the camera to carry on tracking the blood is must drop too. By tilting the camera down as the floor opens you feel as though you are following something into the ground. It has put you into the film and feel connected before you know anything about the characters. There is a close up of the mincing machine with what looks like minced meat coming out of, you are not sure as to what the mince actually is but you can tell from the shot and the way the mince is coming out that it is disgusting. This is true as later on in the film you are told that the mince that you see is actually a human. The shot that is looking through the oven door at the fire and the pies is a really good shot to make you, once again, feel as though you are there and know what is going on. It is almost like you are the camera and if you where there that is what you would be able to see. There is then a shot where you are at the end of a tunnel and the blood and water is gushing towards you. Then it drops underwater and you are back to the same sky that is in the establishing shot at the beginning of the opening sequence.
The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, known as Sweeney Todd, played by Johnny Depp. He sets up a barber shop in London and this becomes the basis of a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant Mrs Lovett, it is based on the hit Broadway musical.The opening sequence of the film is not one full of action that grabs your attention as such but it puts you on the edge of your seat eager to watch the film. It sets the tone and allows the audience to adjust to what is due to come next.
SOUND: Firstly I focused on sound both diegetic and non-diegetic. Throughout the whole opening sequence there is some form of music over the top. It is eerie, yet still upbeat in some points it changes to more sharp and high pitch. The high pitch sounds of violins almost sound as though someone is rubbing metal against metal. The sounds are very aggressive and could suggest to the audience that it is going to be a violent film, someone could die by the use of a sharp object, to go along side the sharp sound. The background track is not smooth it is jumpy and quickly changes tone and pitch. The organ ranges from high to really low sounds that create a tense atmosphere telling the audience that it is a horror film. There is also a lot of range of volume used as well, at some point is it really loud and other points you can barely hear it but it is still there in the background.
Then there is the digetic sound, this is the sound that you would hear if you where there. You can hear the sound of the clogs turning and as if someone is pulling levers, this has the effect of eeriness and spookiness. You can hear the blood dripping, this tells you that it is definitely going to have some horror and gore in it, also helping establish the genre. Uproar of fire and crackling of something burning, this sounds dark and cold yet the fire that you can see is warming. The fire could be seen as good to keep people warm but yet it could connote violence and something burning or dying too. Then comes the slamming off the oven door with the fire still crackling away underneath but not as loud, the slam of the door shocks the audience as it is louder then the sound of crackling fire. The way the door shuts very fast and the booming noise that it makes reminds the audience of the violent and horror that is in the film. By being able to hear running water, with blood mixed in, lets you know that you are going to be somewhere else when the film starts as you have traveled with the water. The noise is quite distracting and makes people feel on edge as the rushing of water is frantic.
EDITING: The blood that runs throughout the whole of the opening sequence has been edited, it has been saturated making it look unrealistic. It is bright red and does not look real at all. There is only one reason for this, they do not want people to take it too seriously, by using blood that doesn't look real it could show that it is meant to be comical. The brightness of the red also contrasts with the rest of the scenes being so dark. The blood looks gooey and moves extremely slowly, when it does change pace it is linked in with the music and as the blood runs faster the music becomes faster too. This re insures the idea that the blood and the shrilling sounds could connote someone being killed. The credits are all in white, contrasting the dark backgrounds behind, this makes them stand out and are therefore easier to read. The main title of the film is in the same red as the blood as shown below.
SHOTS:
There is an establishing shot that allows the audience to locate where the film is set. It also then moves to a shot that makes you feel as though you are in the film, it is looking out of a window and you can see the rain falling. By doing this you immediately feel as if you are connected to the movie before it has even started and introduced a character. The wide shot, to establish where you are, that then zooms in to look through a window and focuses on a central piece makes sure you know that you are supposed to be looking at the central piece, the chair. The camera then does a tracking shot of the blood throughout the whole time the blood is running, by doing this it reinforces that the blood is the main focus and the genre is horror or crime. There is one shot where it is tracking the blood and then the floor drops, this means for the camera to carry on tracking the blood is must drop too. By tilting the camera down as the floor opens you feel as though you are following something into the ground. It has put you into the film and feel connected before you know anything about the characters. There is a close up of the mincing machine with what looks like minced meat coming out of, you are not sure as to what the mince actually is but you can tell from the shot and the way the mince is coming out that it is disgusting. This is true as later on in the film you are told that the mince that you see is actually a human. The shot that is looking through the oven door at the fire and the pies is a really good shot to make you, once again, feel as though you are there and know what is going on. It is almost like you are the camera and if you where there that is what you would be able to see. There is then a shot where you are at the end of a tunnel and the blood and water is gushing towards you. Then it drops underwater and you are back to the same sky that is in the establishing shot at the beginning of the opening sequence.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Monday, 2 December 2013
Change of Plans
Changes
In light of recent critique of our idea for our opening film, we will be changing the character of the 'Hitman' a little. Instead of him being a hitman, he will instead be a henchman; forced into his violent job by the cartel that murdered his family and took him in when he was at a very young age, the same cartel that are after Tom Longley, the drug dealer. He will be just one of the men sent after Tom Longley by the cartel, but he is the one that we will focus on for our opening sequence. This is because a seventeen year old hitman hired for a serious job has been recognized as being very unbelievable, and we want our audience to be feeling tension that is vital to the thriller genre, that they might not feel if the character is completely unbelievable. A henchman character, asked and made to do his job by the cartel is more believable because it is convenient for the cartel and he is not theonly one sent to do the job (which might not be believable because they wouldn't rely 100% on a 17 year old).
This will still be deliberately unclear in our opening sequence. We still want the audience to be left intrigued - wondering who this character is and what he wants so that they would be wanting to watch the rest of the film to find out, but it is always good to have a planned background story for the characters so that we have a better idea of how to mould them when we begin filming and acting.
This will still be deliberately unclear in our opening sequence. We still want the audience to be left intrigued - wondering who this character is and what he wants so that they would be wanting to watch the rest of the film to find out, but it is always good to have a planned background story for the characters so that we have a better idea of how to mould them when we begin filming and acting.
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Monday, 25 November 2013
Lighting Test
(Edited from Joe Panton)
Our opening takes place during the daytime, so we decided it may be best for the lighting in our film to be kept mainly as high key lighting. This leads the opening to look realistic, and the fact that it looks like it took place during day time (it does) may add to the tension of the scene, asit may seem unconventional for an intense and possibly frightening scene to have taken place in a bright setting, much like the"'Heeeeere's Johnny!" scene from "The Shining".
Lighting Tests:
We decided to test the lighting in our location before going and filming to give us some idea what lighting we are going to use. The black curtains which block the natural light from outside, will not be present when we start the filming- therefore, we chose to test the lighting in the parts of the shop (and our script) which would realistically remain similarly lit when we actually start filming. The only place we decided might be realistically lit is around the counter/till.
Our opening takes place during the daytime, so we decided it may be best for the lighting in our film to be kept mainly as high key lighting. This leads the opening to look realistic, and the fact that it looks like it took place during day time (it does) may add to the tension of the scene, asit may seem unconventional for an intense and possibly frightening scene to have taken place in a bright setting, much like the"'Heeeeere's Johnny!" scene from "The Shining".
However, when the hitman approaches the till/counter, we decided it would be best to utilise the top lighting of the shop, from above the till, in order to exaggerate certain features on the hitman's face and make them stand out - which creates a more sinister character conventional to our genre.
Another thing that we decided to do was to leave off many of the lights that the shop usually has turned on, and instead opt to turn on only the lights that were around 4k kelvin. With the curtains open for our actual film to allow in natural sunlight (which would be around the warmth that the lights we leave on are at), this creates a colder and more intense atmosphere than warmer lighting / lower kelvin would create.
The colder tone of lighting also emphasizes the cold and inhumane nature of the hitman - as it makes him look paler and this leads to him becoming distanced from the audience, insuring that they do not empathize with him.
Another thing that we decided to do was to leave off many of the lights that the shop usually has turned on, and instead opt to turn on only the lights that were around 4k kelvin. With the curtains open for our actual film to allow in natural sunlight (which would be around the warmth that the lights we leave on are at), this creates a colder and more intense atmosphere than warmer lighting / lower kelvin would create.
The colder tone of lighting also emphasizes the cold and inhumane nature of the hitman - as it makes him look paler and this leads to him becoming distanced from the audience, insuring that they do not empathize with him.
It also makes the opening sequence seem eery and as if something bad is about to happen.
Location Recce
(Edited from Jake Andrews, photos taken by whole group)
Location Recce: Lighting Shop
Location Recces:
The lighting shop is the location for the whole of the opening scene it will take place in a part of the narrative when the trail on Tom Longley has gone cold, and the hitman is trying to find the target by searching around places where the target goes, visits or is familiar with, bringing him to a lighting shop, next to a bustling road.
The lights in shop can be used to our advantage as we can easily use them to get effects on the characters to create tension or to develop characters. Certain coloured lights for example a greeney-white can be on the characters face to disconnect him from the audience and make him seem inhuman. The shop has a ladder/trolley on wheels - which can be used for steady camera work. The black curtains will be removed, making the location seem more believable and thus more realistic and intense.
The counter will be where the hitman and shop assistant will exchange conversations and where the hitman kills the shop assistant. The shelf in the middle can also be used for the camera, by laying it on spaces between the shelves we will be able to get some interesting shots. The lights coming down from the top could be used to our advantage for top lighting, to exaggerate features on the hitman's face or to exaggerate shadows to make him see more sinister or evil. The right of the picture above and in the middle of the image below is the entrance to another room in the shop, where the hitman enters the scene from. A bright light could possibly be used for when the hitman walks out of this room to create a powerful shadow as he comes through. Making the audience feel like the character is filling the room through his presence and darkness giving him dominance and allowing the audience to understand his power.
The counter will be where the hitman and shop assistant will exchange conversations and where the hitman kills the shop assistant. The shelf in the middle can also be used for the camera, by laying it on spaces between the shelves we will be able to get some interesting shots. The lights coming down from the top could be used to our advantage for top lighting, to exaggerate features on the hitman's face or to exaggerate shadows to make him see more sinister or evil. The right of the picture above and in the middle of the image below is the entrance to another room in the shop, where the hitman enters the scene from. A bright light could possibly be used for when the hitman walks out of this room to create a powerful shadow as he comes through. Making the audience feel like the character is filling the room through his presence and darkness giving him dominance and allowing the audience to understand his power.
The till for customers to pay at and also where the conversation between the hit man and the cashier occurs. It is very realistic and has all the equipment that we already need such as a till, computer screen, chair and lighting. The till is also quite long so you could get a shot from the side that allows you to see the conversations being exchanged.
Target Audience & Age Rating for our film
(Edited from Jake Andrews)
Parental Guide & Target Audience for our film
The target audience for our production is over 16 year olds due to its mature content. The film product should be at this maturity rating as the film contains scenes of a fatal shooting, intense scenes which may frighten or disturb younger audiences and the mention and use of drugs. The film's age rating and target audience is explained through these categories:
Sex and Nudity:
None
Violence and Gore:
The opening scene contains two innocent people being shot by the hitman. Both deaths are off screen but you can still hear the gun shot being fired.
The whole film is based around a drug dealer escaping a hitman, meaning that there are life or death situations, and the rest of the film would contain gore.
Profanity:
The opening sequence contains no swearing.
However during the rest of the film there would be very strong language.
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking:
The film would include references to drugs all the way through. Drug use, dealing and effects of drugs are shown throughout.
Frightening/Intense Scenes:
The opening scene sees someone held at gunpoint and interrogated. This could be seen as frightening and intense to some viewers.
The film is about a chase that includes life or death choices and action sequences that could be frightening and intense to some.
Target audience:
Western Europe, UK, America - those who live in a similar environment/ culture may be able to relate more closely with some of the elements in the film, even if it means just the weather - this can make the film seem more intense to this audience, as it feels close and real.
18+. Those who enjoy tense films and aren't shocked by gun violence or drugs. If you look towards Katz and Blumler and the uses and gratifications media theory, our audience would probably mainly be watching this film for the use of entertainment.
Parental Guide & Target Audience for our film
The target audience for our production is over 16 year olds due to its mature content. The film product should be at this maturity rating as the film contains scenes of a fatal shooting, intense scenes which may frighten or disturb younger audiences and the mention and use of drugs. The film's age rating and target audience is explained through these categories:
Sex and Nudity:
None
Violence and Gore:
The opening scene contains two innocent people being shot by the hitman. Both deaths are off screen but you can still hear the gun shot being fired.
The whole film is based around a drug dealer escaping a hitman, meaning that there are life or death situations, and the rest of the film would contain gore.
Profanity:
The opening sequence contains no swearing.
However during the rest of the film there would be very strong language.
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking:
The film would include references to drugs all the way through. Drug use, dealing and effects of drugs are shown throughout.
Frightening/Intense Scenes:
The opening scene sees someone held at gunpoint and interrogated. This could be seen as frightening and intense to some viewers.
The film is about a chase that includes life or death choices and action sequences that could be frightening and intense to some.
Target audience:
Western Europe, UK, America - those who live in a similar environment/ culture may be able to relate more closely with some of the elements in the film, even if it means just the weather - this can make the film seem more intense to this audience, as it feels close and real.
18+. Those who enjoy tense films and aren't shocked by gun violence or drugs. If you look towards Katz and Blumler and the uses and gratifications media theory, our audience would probably mainly be watching this film for the use of entertainment.
Friday, 22 November 2013
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Script - Opening Sequence (Original By Joe Panton)
This script is for our group opening sequence, it was originally made by Joe Panton but I have edited some aspects of it.
Script – We have not yet decided a name for our film
Blue: Camera
Red: Stage directions
Premise:
A drug dealer that had a spent his life building a business worth millions is now trying to escape from his rebellious past and live a normal life. Whilst a young, ambitious psychotic hitman has been hired to track him down resulting in a cat and mouse chase that ensues across England.
Setting: Spring Electrical (an electrical wholesaler/ lighting-shop) – Mid-afternoon
It’s mid-afternoon about 4:00pm with grey, gloomy overcast weather, inside the ironically-bleakly-lit-room of a lighting-shop. The lighting shop is situated next to a bustling dual carriageway, allowing for new customers and visitors at any time. The shop starts almost empty, with the exception of the much organised and very experienced sales assistant/ cashier behind the till who, at the time, is having a conversation with her also present mother, and a casual looking teenager in dark blue jeans and a hoody is examining the products in the display room, which isn't visible for the entirety of the opening sequence.
[Camera starts with a wide shot of the window on the right side of the front entrance door, from the right side of display shelves that are located centrally, showing the grim and cloudy sky and the busy bypass road, slowly the camera starts to move backwards through the shop as a dolly shot from a one point perspective]
Voiceover of man: If you look at me – in all my riches, and you told me that what you saw was an innocent man who got lucky, I’m not proud - but you’d be wrong.
(Background conversation)
Sales assistant: - Oh! Mum, do you not want a bag?
Customer/mother: No thank you, don't worry about that love, that’s fine, I’m rushing home to escape the rain, are you still all coming for lunch on Sunday?
Sales assistant: It doesn't look as if it’s about to get any brighter does it! Yeah, yeah we should be there around 2'clock? Thanks mum, see you.
Customer/mother: See you soon, love, take care.
(Customer takes product and walks down the right aisle and out of the shop, walking past the camera)
[Camera has made it across the right aisle and to the end of the shelves, and dollies over to the left side of the shelves,passing the central shelf, facing across the left aisle to the window now to the left side of the door, in a one point perspective shot again]
Voiceover of man: All that I built is now crumbling, and I turn away without looking back.
(Teenager walks into the main area from the display room and kneels onto the floor to examine products enthusiastically)
Voiceover of man: But others can’t… and they won’t.
Sales assistant: (Shifting her attention to young man lent down) Can I help you sir?
Teenager: [the camera switches to behind the teenagers (joe) shoulder, showing the sales assistant for the first time] (He turns to assistant and nods his head) actually you can! (Gets up and starts walking slowly towards counter) Bit of a weird thing to ask actually but (smiles sinisterly and lays hand onto till, [a medium two shot taken from one side of the till, showing the pair on the opposite sides of the till] could you just tell me what you know about this man. (Throws photograph onto till in an aggressive manor)
Shop assistant: (Looks down, shaking her head, gulping) I’m sorry but I don’t think I can give out such information as that, why?
[shot changes to low angle shot from behind one side of the teenager looking up past the boys legs and to the face of the sales assistant the other side of the till]
Teenager: (Pulls gun from waistband – back of jeans - raises gun level to her head) [Music starts]
Shop assistant: Oh… I don’t... h- he came in earlier – this morning. H-he knows our boss - my boss, his name – I think the name is Tom Longley, please don’t –
[the medium two shot taken from the side of the till, showing the pair on the opposite sides]
Teenager: (Puts photograph back into pocket and lowers gun to the base of the till) Where can I find your boss?
[Zooms in onto sales assistants face, close up, from the side, shows emotions]
Shop assistant: (Face starts to collapse as tears begin to form) He lives in Ashtead… Overdale… please don-
[Zooms back out to original shot of the pair either side of the till]
Teenager: And his name?
Shop assistant: … *silence*
Teenager: (Raises gun again)
Shop assistant: It’s Brian Greene!
[Screen turns to black promptly and a second later a gunshot is heard, followed by a stumbling onto the floor, before jumping to a medium shot of the teenager, taken from behind the till, with the teenager obscuring the view of a 4th character who witnessed the act in the background]
Teenager: (Lowers gun and sighs deeply before slowly turning around, we see the other customer standing limply in shock, and the teenager raises his gun once more) [The screen blackens before the title of film fades in the colour of blood red]
Two scripts put together
A script for an opening sequence of a film that is made from two different scripts from films that have been released.
By doing this it has allowed me to see how different aspects of different scripts can come together very well. It also showed me that there are many different ways off starting a film sequence. It was a fun task that allowed me to explore opening sequences.
Friday, 1 November 2013
Specific Film Title Creator: Maurice Binder
Film Title Creator: Maurice Binder
Maurice Binder was born on August 25th 1925 in NY City. He was a film title designer, although born in America he mostly worked in Britain from the 1950s. He died at age 65 on April 4th 1991, from lung cancer. He never married or had children, just focused on his job.
He is most know for his work on the 14 James Bond films, including the first Dr No in 1962. As a film title designer he was in charge of designing the opening sequence of the film, with the credits. The credits usually include the company that produced the film, the director and the main actors names. It is also known as animated credits or motion graphics.
Not only did he work on 14 James Bond films he also did work on many other films too including, Dracula, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and The Final Countdown. His career lasted all the way up until 1990 just one year before he died.
The video below is the work of Maurice Binder on the first James Bond film Dr No. in 1962.
Maurice Binder described the come about of the gun barrel scene in his last interview before he died like this ; That was something I did in a hurry, because I had to get to a meeting with the producers in twenty minutes. I just happened to have little white, price tag stickers and I thought I'd use them as gun shots across the screen. We'd have James Bond walk through and fire, at which point blood comes down onscreen. That was about a twenty-minute storyboard I did, and they said, "This looks great!"
Something that he did almost by accident turned out to be something that went on to be one of the most remembered things about the opening of James Bond films. The gun barrel part scene is used in a lot of the other opening titles of James Bond films too.
The final film that Maurice Binder was the title creator for was called The Sheltering Sky in 1990. The opening title is all in black and white beside the credits which are in a bold blue. The contrast is very clever as the film is called The Sheltering Sky the blue could connote the sky.
Binders style is very clever he makes sure that the opening title does not give too much away about the film but it still gives an introduction to the main actor and sets the tone of the film. In the James Bond films he ensures that there is ladies acting in sexual ways or being shown as sexual objects. He is known for making the women in the James Bond films to jump around or use guns, these are trademarks of the Bond films. He makes sure there is reference to guns and violence, which is why the gun barrel scene is used so frequently. James Bond is always shown as the main character and the one that is in control. No matter what actor is playing the role they are represented in a very positive way and seen to be classy, well dressed and sleek.
Some screenshots put together of Billion Dollar Brain the opening title by Maurice Binder. You can see that the colours that are used are all similar and there is a reoccurring theme. Things are shown more than once and colours change but the image doesn't.
Maurice Binder was born on August 25th 1925 in NY City. He was a film title designer, although born in America he mostly worked in Britain from the 1950s. He died at age 65 on April 4th 1991, from lung cancer. He never married or had children, just focused on his job.
He is most know for his work on the 14 James Bond films, including the first Dr No in 1962. As a film title designer he was in charge of designing the opening sequence of the film, with the credits. The credits usually include the company that produced the film, the director and the main actors names. It is also known as animated credits or motion graphics.
Not only did he work on 14 James Bond films he also did work on many other films too including, Dracula, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and The Final Countdown. His career lasted all the way up until 1990 just one year before he died.
The video below is the work of Maurice Binder on the first James Bond film Dr No. in 1962.
Maurice Binder described the come about of the gun barrel scene in his last interview before he died like this ; That was something I did in a hurry, because I had to get to a meeting with the producers in twenty minutes. I just happened to have little white, price tag stickers and I thought I'd use them as gun shots across the screen. We'd have James Bond walk through and fire, at which point blood comes down onscreen. That was about a twenty-minute storyboard I did, and they said, "This looks great!"
Something that he did almost by accident turned out to be something that went on to be one of the most remembered things about the opening of James Bond films. The gun barrel part scene is used in a lot of the other opening titles of James Bond films too.
The final film that Maurice Binder was the title creator for was called The Sheltering Sky in 1990. The opening title is all in black and white beside the credits which are in a bold blue. The contrast is very clever as the film is called The Sheltering Sky the blue could connote the sky.
Binders style is very clever he makes sure that the opening title does not give too much away about the film but it still gives an introduction to the main actor and sets the tone of the film. In the James Bond films he ensures that there is ladies acting in sexual ways or being shown as sexual objects. He is known for making the women in the James Bond films to jump around or use guns, these are trademarks of the Bond films. He makes sure there is reference to guns and violence, which is why the gun barrel scene is used so frequently. James Bond is always shown as the main character and the one that is in control. No matter what actor is playing the role they are represented in a very positive way and seen to be classy, well dressed and sleek.
Some screenshots put together of Billion Dollar Brain the opening title by Maurice Binder. You can see that the colours that are used are all similar and there is a reoccurring theme. Things are shown more than once and colours change but the image doesn't.
Director : Pierre Morel
Director : Pierre Morel
He is not one of the most famous film directors but this is because he isn't usually a director, he is actually a very talented cinematographer. A cinematographer is someone who is in control of the camera and films the movie. He has been director of all apects that come under the heading of camera in most of his jobs but there are a few films that he himself directed. The most famous one being Taken that was released in 2008. Despite this he has worked along side some famous directors such as Louis Leterrier, director of Clash of the Titans, Now You See Me and The Incredible Hulk.
What is Pierre like as a director? The films that he has been director of are a mix of action-adventure films, such as Taken, District 13 and From Paris with Love. He has been director of a television series that is called Zero Hour, it is a fantasy drama.
Recently he has been linked with the production of a crime film called The Prone Gunman and there are also rumors that he may take on the role as director for The Hitmans Bodyguard. Both these films are fast paced and quite violent like the films he has already been director for. This tells me that his style of production is successful in the action-adventure, thriller and crime genres of film.
In the film From Paris with Love he has John Travolta as one of the main characters by doing this he is ensuring that the film is aimed at everyone, as John Travolta has been in many films including Grease, Pulp Fiction. He is very distinctive and Pierre Morel uses him to the best of his ability throughout the film. Likewise in Taken he uses Liam Neeson who is very famous and distinctive for being in violent action films. In both Taken and From Paris With Love, he ensures that the main character is constantly winning fights and uses many effects such as slow motion to make it look far more impressive. The two clips below show this.
Overall I believe that his style of directing is very basic, he bases the film on the shots that can be used as this is what he is best at doing. He ensures that every shot is the best it could be, especially noticeable during the fight scenes.
Specific Director : Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg:
Born in Ohio on December 18th 1946.Steven Spielberg is undoubtedly one of the most well known film directors to this day. At 67 years old he has directed a tremendous amount of films, some of which have been extremely successful. Not only is he a world known director he is known for writing films and producing them too.
His first experience of being in the film industry was in 1957 when he assisted the editor of 'Wagon Train' he was only 11 years old at the time and this must have hugely influenced him to become more involved. He directed a few short films, one of which he makes a stationary plane looks as though it is moving, 'Escape to Nowhere', 'The Last Gun' and 'Battle Squad'. One of his early films that he is most likely to remember is 'Amblin' this is because the films features desert, Amblin later becomes the name of the company that produces one of his best selling films of all time 'E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.' However these films were only a smidgen of what was to come.
His first major directorial effort was 'The Sugarland Express' (1974) but his next film was too be one that shook the world and made him stand out as a star among directors in the world. Jaws (1975), this was a wonderful hit and made other directors think about what they can do next.
He also produced and directed many other famous films; E.T the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, The Goonies, Gremlins, The Colour Purple and Empire of the Sun. Indiana Jones and The Last Crusaide, Back to the Future (part 2). Not only did he produce and direct these films he also had a massive influence on animation and animated films. 'Casper' and 'The Flintstones' are two of his most well know animated films. In the early 1990s Spielberg was very busy directing 8 films including, Schindlers List a massive film, Hook and Jurrasic Park. He continued to proudce films in the late 90's, The Mask of Zorro, Men In Black. But it was his directing side of the industry that he proved to be successful, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan and Shakespeare in Love.
He is a very well known director and in the production of ET he used lots of special effects, this previously had not been exploited. ET was a blockbuster and held a record of being the highest grossing film of all time, until 1993 when Jurassic Park also by Steve Spielberg overtook it.
Spielberg is a very successful director and producer but what makes him so different from everyone else? He has a very special talent and is able to recognise what sounds should go with what image that can be seen. He uses many foly sounds in order to ensure that the sound he gets is exactly as he needs it to be. He has studied and analysed famous movie directors such as Victor Fleming, that have been successful before his time, he uses there techniques and alters them just a little bit so that they fit his film. By doing this he is ensuring that the film will be successful as people may have seen the method used previously and therefore feel as though the film they are watching is as good as the last one that used that method. By moving the camera from left to right he does not always focus the shot on the centre, by doing this the audience gain information and the dialogue tells them what they need to know. It also keeps the audience engaged as they need to listen to one thing but watch something else.
Close ups are one of his specialties, he likes to use close ups to show the emotion, but when moving the camera to a close up he does not simply go straight on towards the face he comes from an angle, by doing this you get a sense of emotion as you interpret it differently. Another method that he uses for close ups is you can notice that the character that we are looking at, is not looking back at us. This engages the audience as they then want to see what the character they are watching is seeing. You feel the sense of fear that the character feels, this technique takes 3 shots to complete, first you see the character looking at something, normally they look worried or scared. Then you see what they are looking at, you gain knowledge. After that you see the characters reaction to what you and them have just seen, this allows you to feel the emotions of the character that you have connected with.
In a lot of his films you will notice that circles are used instead of squares, for example windows are often circles as they are softer. By making the shot softer is brings out more emotion. Or it can focus us to look at the centre of it and not realise what is going on around it.
Overall Speilberg is an incredible director and producer, he has won 3 Oscars, been nominated 120 times and won 125 other awards. These include Best Director - Saving Private Ryan this won him an Oscar.
Born in Ohio on December 18th 1946.Steven Spielberg is undoubtedly one of the most well known film directors to this day. At 67 years old he has directed a tremendous amount of films, some of which have been extremely successful. Not only is he a world known director he is known for writing films and producing them too.
His first experience of being in the film industry was in 1957 when he assisted the editor of 'Wagon Train' he was only 11 years old at the time and this must have hugely influenced him to become more involved. He directed a few short films, one of which he makes a stationary plane looks as though it is moving, 'Escape to Nowhere', 'The Last Gun' and 'Battle Squad'. One of his early films that he is most likely to remember is 'Amblin' this is because the films features desert, Amblin later becomes the name of the company that produces one of his best selling films of all time 'E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.' However these films were only a smidgen of what was to come.
His first major directorial effort was 'The Sugarland Express' (1974) but his next film was too be one that shook the world and made him stand out as a star among directors in the world. Jaws (1975), this was a wonderful hit and made other directors think about what they can do next. He also produced and directed many other famous films; E.T the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, The Goonies, Gremlins, The Colour Purple and Empire of the Sun. Indiana Jones and The Last Crusaide, Back to the Future (part 2). Not only did he produce and direct these films he also had a massive influence on animation and animated films. 'Casper' and 'The Flintstones' are two of his most well know animated films. In the early 1990s Spielberg was very busy directing 8 films including, Schindlers List a massive film, Hook and Jurrasic Park. He continued to proudce films in the late 90's, The Mask of Zorro, Men In Black. But it was his directing side of the industry that he proved to be successful, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan and Shakespeare in Love.
He is a very well known director and in the production of ET he used lots of special effects, this previously had not been exploited. ET was a blockbuster and held a record of being the highest grossing film of all time, until 1993 when Jurassic Park also by Steve Spielberg overtook it.
Spielberg is a very successful director and producer but what makes him so different from everyone else? He has a very special talent and is able to recognise what sounds should go with what image that can be seen. He uses many foly sounds in order to ensure that the sound he gets is exactly as he needs it to be. He has studied and analysed famous movie directors such as Victor Fleming, that have been successful before his time, he uses there techniques and alters them just a little bit so that they fit his film. By doing this he is ensuring that the film will be successful as people may have seen the method used previously and therefore feel as though the film they are watching is as good as the last one that used that method. By moving the camera from left to right he does not always focus the shot on the centre, by doing this the audience gain information and the dialogue tells them what they need to know. It also keeps the audience engaged as they need to listen to one thing but watch something else.
Close ups are one of his specialties, he likes to use close ups to show the emotion, but when moving the camera to a close up he does not simply go straight on towards the face he comes from an angle, by doing this you get a sense of emotion as you interpret it differently. Another method that he uses for close ups is you can notice that the character that we are looking at, is not looking back at us. This engages the audience as they then want to see what the character they are watching is seeing. You feel the sense of fear that the character feels, this technique takes 3 shots to complete, first you see the character looking at something, normally they look worried or scared. Then you see what they are looking at, you gain knowledge. After that you see the characters reaction to what you and them have just seen, this allows you to feel the emotions of the character that you have connected with.
In a lot of his films you will notice that circles are used instead of squares, for example windows are often circles as they are softer. By making the shot softer is brings out more emotion. Or it can focus us to look at the centre of it and not realise what is going on around it.
Overall Speilberg is an incredible director and producer, he has won 3 Oscars, been nominated 120 times and won 125 other awards. These include Best Director - Saving Private Ryan this won him an Oscar.
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
A Discussion of my Favourite Films
A Discussion of my Favourite Films:
TAKEN:
There are many films that I have seen and enjoyed, it is incredibly hard to try and pick a film that I can call my favourite. I enjoy watching films that keep me on edge and engaged, most action and adventure films grasp my interest but only if they have a good story line. I don't find sci-fi or fantasy that interesting as i get distracted and drawn away from it.
Taken, released in 2008, starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace is my favourite film, I have watched it over and over again, for me it does not get boring and will entertain me for a long time. Being an action adventure / thriller / crime film, it has quite a simple story line but the director has made this basic story line into a wonderful film.
A brief description of the plot is an retired CIA agent travels around Europe in order to try and rescue his daughter. She has been kidnapped whilst on a girls holiday in France. He has to rely on many of his old skills in order to attempt to rescue her.
The opening sequence to the film is unconventional, it is not all fast and action filled. Instead it starts by making you wonder who the young girl is and why the man is watching the videos of her birthday. It engages the audience as it makes them have to watch some more of the film to find this information out. It is also personal, as the video footage that is being shown is filmed on a hand held camcorder. Most of us are able to relate to this as our parents, or maybe even us, have recorded or been recorded at such event like a birthday or Christmas.
The most famous line and the most well known quote from the film occurs just after Kim Mills (Maggie Grace) is 'taken'. This is a clip of the most famous line in the film and the most remembered moment.
The response from the man that is currently unknown at the other end of line, sets the tone for the film and you from that point can tell how determined Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is to save his daughter. The voice of the man is also very distinctive and therefore it sticks in peoples minds.
Taken is conventional for an action film as it is fast and there is a lot going on at one time. There is a car chase and lots of violence too. However the crime side it is unconventional is doesn't have the normal detective in a uniform, instead it uses the father of the daughter. This has many effects it makes it more personal and as the audience you are automatically on the side of Bryan Mills to get his daughter back. The film has been nominated for 3 awards in the past and has successfully won one of these three. They later released Taken 2 which is the sequel to Taken, this tells you that the film must have been a great hit and they were excited to continue the story line on further.
The director of the film is Pierre Morel, he has a history of producing action films. You can find more information about him on my page all about him and what he has achieved.
SAFE HAVEN:
Another film that I could say is one of my favourites is Safe Haven, it is quite a recent film and I can remember going to the cinema to watch it. It is a little out of the ordinary and there are not many films that are like it. The genre is a mix between mystery, drama and romance. I do not normally enjoy romance films unless they are ROM-COM's however this is a fantastic film that I would suggest everyone watches. It is definatley a romance film as it is written by the author of The Notebook and it was directed by Lasse Hallström who also directed Dear John. It has been nominated for 5 awards and won 2 of these, having only been released in March 2013 this is a brilliant achievement.
It has a cast that is well known and this film just emphasises their acting talent. The main characters in the underlying romance side of the story are Julianne Hough who plays the role of Katie and Josh Duhamel who plays the role of the local lad Alex. The plot and story line is very unique and a the twist at the end of the film makes the whole film make sense. The plot in brief; A young lady turns up in a small town in North Carolina, everyone is unsure of her past and her history. She was reluctant to let anyone know about her but then slowly lowers her guard, this is because she falls in love with the owner of the general store, Alex, who has two young children. She also falls in love with the town and finds it extremely hard to leave as she has set roots there. However something comes to haunt her and all of her past is revealed. It is an emotional roller coaster of a film with many twists and turns that you do not expect.
The opening sequence of the film is engaging as it ensures the audience continues to watch the film to find out what has happened. Why is there a lady running? It gives the audience a lot of questions to try and answer. There is only one way of which there could to find the response, to watch the entire film. The opening sequence is very dramatic and fits all the conventions of a drama movie or scene. Someone running away but you do not know why, she has no shoes on and is carrying a plastic bag, this is not a normal way for any film to open, you do not have any idea where it is set or any idea who the person is.
TAKEN:
There are many films that I have seen and enjoyed, it is incredibly hard to try and pick a film that I can call my favourite. I enjoy watching films that keep me on edge and engaged, most action and adventure films grasp my interest but only if they have a good story line. I don't find sci-fi or fantasy that interesting as i get distracted and drawn away from it.
Taken, released in 2008, starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace is my favourite film, I have watched it over and over again, for me it does not get boring and will entertain me for a long time. Being an action adventure / thriller / crime film, it has quite a simple story line but the director has made this basic story line into a wonderful film.
A brief description of the plot is an retired CIA agent travels around Europe in order to try and rescue his daughter. She has been kidnapped whilst on a girls holiday in France. He has to rely on many of his old skills in order to attempt to rescue her.
The opening sequence to the film is unconventional, it is not all fast and action filled. Instead it starts by making you wonder who the young girl is and why the man is watching the videos of her birthday. It engages the audience as it makes them have to watch some more of the film to find this information out. It is also personal, as the video footage that is being shown is filmed on a hand held camcorder. Most of us are able to relate to this as our parents, or maybe even us, have recorded or been recorded at such event like a birthday or Christmas.
The most famous line and the most well known quote from the film occurs just after Kim Mills (Maggie Grace) is 'taken'. This is a clip of the most famous line in the film and the most remembered moment.
The response from the man that is currently unknown at the other end of line, sets the tone for the film and you from that point can tell how determined Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is to save his daughter. The voice of the man is also very distinctive and therefore it sticks in peoples minds.
The director of the film is Pierre Morel, he has a history of producing action films. You can find more information about him on my page all about him and what he has achieved.
SAFE HAVEN:
Another film that I could say is one of my favourites is Safe Haven, it is quite a recent film and I can remember going to the cinema to watch it. It is a little out of the ordinary and there are not many films that are like it. The genre is a mix between mystery, drama and romance. I do not normally enjoy romance films unless they are ROM-COM's however this is a fantastic film that I would suggest everyone watches. It is definatley a romance film as it is written by the author of The Notebook and it was directed by Lasse Hallström who also directed Dear John. It has been nominated for 5 awards and won 2 of these, having only been released in March 2013 this is a brilliant achievement. It has a cast that is well known and this film just emphasises their acting talent. The main characters in the underlying romance side of the story are Julianne Hough who plays the role of Katie and Josh Duhamel who plays the role of the local lad Alex. The plot and story line is very unique and a the twist at the end of the film makes the whole film make sense. The plot in brief; A young lady turns up in a small town in North Carolina, everyone is unsure of her past and her history. She was reluctant to let anyone know about her but then slowly lowers her guard, this is because she falls in love with the owner of the general store, Alex, who has two young children. She also falls in love with the town and finds it extremely hard to leave as she has set roots there. However something comes to haunt her and all of her past is revealed. It is an emotional roller coaster of a film with many twists and turns that you do not expect.
The opening sequence of the film is engaging as it ensures the audience continues to watch the film to find out what has happened. Why is there a lady running? It gives the audience a lot of questions to try and answer. There is only one way of which there could to find the response, to watch the entire film. The opening sequence is very dramatic and fits all the conventions of a drama movie or scene. Someone running away but you do not know why, she has no shoes on and is carrying a plastic bag, this is not a normal way for any film to open, you do not have any idea where it is set or any idea who the person is.
These two films are the two that I consider to be my favourite however it was incredibly hard to narrow down, Inception (2010) is a very clever film. I appreciate older films such as The Blues Brothers, The Terminator and Pulp Fiction. There are hundreds of thousands of films and I have only seen a few.
Welcome to my Media Blog
My name is Elizabeth Overton, but everyone calls me Beth instead. I am studying A levels at Overton Grange School and Media is one of them, the others that I am studying philosophy and ethics, history and citizenship. Outside of school I play football for Middlesex Centre of Excellence and spend a lot of time traveling to and from training and matches. In the time traveling the radio and music side of media is something I find my self in contact with a lot. I studied Media at GCSE and achieved an A, I thoroughly enjoyed the course although it was hard work and lots of effort, therefore make the decision to take it as an A level. Media is one of the subjects that I like most as there is a lot of independent work and freedom with in the course. Writing is something that I find enjoyable, in A level Media I am looking forward to exploring
I have a great interest in music and listen to a wide variety of styles. There are many different films that I have seen however I don't own that many. My mum enjoys musicals, this has influenced me to accept and watch all sorts of different genres. Having two older sisters I used to watch films that were a higher rating then what i should be allowed for example I remember watching The Mummy and being really scared when I was about 8. My favourite film of all time is hard to decide but 'Taken' with Liam Neeson in is high on the list.
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