Two Minute Opening

This is mine and Alice's two minute opeing to our film 'Rapunzel.' I am very pleased with the results of how it has turned out. I think there is a good choice of angle shots and there is variety. Also, the choice of music fits well with the filming and the more dynamic bits of the music fit well with the title sequences and the titles of the actors and such. Obviously there are some inprovements that need to be made, the first being that we should have used a HD camera as that would have made the picture more clearer and also it would have helped with the CU of the mobile phone, with the messege and it is quite hard to read. We did infact, (in Sony Vegas) put an edit on the filming by where we sharped all of the shots my an amount where it made a difference and didn't look over produced.

We got our music and 'beach sounds' from a free website for copyright free music and sound effects called http://www.stonewashed.net/sfx.html

Editing

When editing our preliminary we did find it hard to get used to Sony Vegas, but when it came to making our two minute opening we found it a lot easier with editing. When I edited our footage I watched most 'how to' videos that Sony Vegas has on their software and that made it a lot easier to get to grips with.
While editing we thought that it would be a good idea to put an effect on the footage, so we decided to sharpen the scenes, as they footage wasn't shot on a HD camera so we decided to sharpen it so it is a better quality view. Also, we learnt how to crop shot efficiently and at a high level, so that our shots weren't too long and that they fit in with the opening nicely.
We also decided on editing a lot of photos to make the title of our film 'Rapunzel.' Alice came up with the idea and edited it so that it spells the word fast and that it can be incorporated in our two minute opening.

Shooting the Scenes

While filming the scenes we did have to cancel  few times because it was either raining or was too sunny for the setting that we wanted. We had to retake shots over and over so we had a lot to work with and also we had to retake scenes, so we would do it one way and then do it another way to see which one would work best when editing it all together.
We also had to make sure that the area on the beach had near to none, people on it to create the loneliness the protagonist is feeling. Filming the home scenes took some time as I had to make sure that both my parents were free too film. With all of these problems we did get all of the footage we needed, but when editing we decided too add some different scenes and so we need to take into account what the actors were wearing and make sure that everything is the same as the original footage.

Choosing our Protagonist for our Two Minute Opening.

Copy of Picking the actors for our two minute opening. on Prezi

I used prezi.com to make a presntation on the way we chose our protagonist.

Shot List

1. The two minutes start with a mid shot of the protagonist with buildings behind her. 
2. Then a panning shot of Hastings Beach, it shows Hastings Pier ruins, the grey clouds and the rough sea. While the shot is panning it fades into the production logo.
3. Fades to a high mid shot of protagonist looking out to the sea.
4. Jump cut to a house of the hero. Over shoulder angle, shows her texting someone. 
5. Shows close up of phone showing the text message saying 'Please come home now! x' to Talulla (protagonist.)
6. Shot behind protagonist, shows the dull scenery (still being the beach.) while this is happening the actors names fades in and the bottom of the right hand corner of the scene for a prolonged time of 20 seconds. The fading writing is 'Talulla McNeilly' 'Sarah McManus' 'Robert McManus' 'In Rapunzel.' While the 20 second period of text is fading in and out, the protagonist receives a text. The angle is a behind mid shot of her getting her phone out of her pocket.
7. Low camera angle (look up to hero) of her standing up and walking towards the other side of the room.
8. Low mid shot of the hero picking up the bag  and the villains leg lying on the floor.
9. Fade to mid shot of hero walking to body, she stops and stares.
10. High close up of back of the head and over the shoulder, looking down at the body on the floor. 
11. Jump cut to protagonist. Mid shot like the beginning of the two minutes. She is near to tears.
12. Left mid shot of protagonist getting up and walking slowly off of the beach.
13. Mid shot of hero giving the villain a filthy look and goes to walk away.
14. Low mid shot of hero going for the door.
15. Hero reaches for the door handle, close up of hand.
16. Low mid shot of hero opening and slamming the door behind her.
17. Long shot of protagonist walking again off of the beach.
18. Mid shot of body (villain.)
19. Slow fade of the body to a close up of a family portrait of a happier time.

All of the shots made were hand held to make the viewer feel more involved with the film and feel they are actually there in the film, experiencing what the actors are experiencing,

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Our Film Classification

Sutiable only for 15 years and over.

No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest  terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

London to Brighton Research

The first 22 seconds of the film London to Brighton is a black background and has three sets of writing that fades in, the first being for 7 seconds which says 'UK Film Council Presents' the second being for 10 seconds saying 'A Steel Mill Pictures & Wellington Films Production' the last section of writing that fades up is 'London 3:07am' and that is held for 5 seconds. The purpose of this is that it suggests that the film is going to be slow paced but as it has not shown any of the characters yet means that we as the veiwers don't know what is going to happen and what to expect.

The first shot is of a women and child throw themselves into a bathroom, the shots are mostly all close ups as the scene is shot in a bathroom and the shots are restricted. The mirror on the wall helps make the room bigger, but also shows us the viewers the face of the girl that comes into the room after the woman.
The shots are edited with a series jump cuts, meaning that it is a conbination two shots that are similar so that the subject jumps from one part of the screen to another, the purpose of this is to speed up time and in London to Brighton's case it makes the opening fast paced as they have to get away as one of the characters says they need to get a train, and that they aren't safe where they are. You don't get the characters names, you don't get the relationship they are with each other, which keeps us as the veiwers guessing as to what the situation is and why it has happened.

In compariosn with our two minute opening, there is no dialouge and it consists of a lot of fade outs. The shooting style is similar to London to Brigton as the house scene is a small area and it has restrictions as to what camera angles we could have done, so we kept it to mid shots, close ups and also high and low angles. London to Brighton doesn't have any music at the start it is all their own sounds e.g. dialouge, doors slamming, cars etc. London to Brighton shows violence and the rough side of life, in our film it shows violence but it shows it from people with a higher class, so maybe middle class, as they have a house of their own and they are well dressed and so on. So London to Brighton is, as I said, about the rougher side of life and our film is about the harsh reality of what could happen to anyone.. abuse.

Whole Film Story

The opening of the film, is slow paced, no one is in any hurry. The scene when you see the father dead on the floor, we notice that the mother slowly reaches the body but before she leaves she gives one more look at him and gives him a look of disgust. This is because he has been abusing both her and Talulla for years and the mum made the decision to take care of things for both of them, so they can have a better life. She texted Talulla 'come home now please' because she had done what she had set out to done. She will then wait in the car for Talulla to get home and they will leave and hide from view so they can have a better life. This story is of the survival of a mother and daughter and the way they have to live in a way to never be caught by the police. They hide for years, change their names, they change everything about themselves and they are happily settling in to normal life again. 10 years later Talulla makes a huge mistake and decides to go back to visit the house where all the abuse had once been, and in a twist she didn't know the case had been reopened for investigation. The house is still there unlived in. She decides to look inside, look around the house remembering the horrific times her and her mother had to endure. She gets caught looking in the house, the police officer has a flash back of seeing her hair before after looking at a picture of the child of the father. Talulla is in trouble and is taken in for questioning, she doesn't tell them anything and sticks to her fake sorry throughout the whole questioning period. She has her one phone call and phones her mother, telling her what has happened. What will her mother do to help? she doesn't want her daughter to take the blame so she decides to turn up and give herself in giving her the life her daughter deserves.

Main Film Locations

We started the fliming at Hasitngs beach, we chose this area to film because it shows Talulla sitting down with no one about. It shows her sense of lonelyness, she is sitting there as if she wants to escape the events that are happening in her life. Also it does epthisise her lonlyness but it actually looks like she is waiting for something and when she gets a text from her mother, she is clearly detressed, does this mean she was just sitting there by choice or is it something different?

We decided to film the scenes with the mother and father at a house, so it shows where Talulla lives and it introduces the characters and the overall theme of the opening. The living room, where the scenes where shot, is a room with brown furniture and dim lighting, so the overall feel you get from watching the set scenes is a dark and grim feeling. As in the circumstances it is perfect as the mother has killed the father and the surroundings need the place to feel cold and unlived in.

Preliminary Task

With the preliminary task me and Alice decided on a simple passing of a Parkwood prospectus, we had me walking through the door and for me to meet Alice in a different room. I have noticed that in the preliminary video there is not sound, so we have somehow got rid of the audio while editing, so could be something to improve on. Another improvement that needs to be worked on is the cropping of the clips, because in some parts each clips runs a bit too long and doesn't look right.

Timeline; shooting schedule

Genre

Before we decided our final choice for the genre of the our two minute opening. The spider diagram shows all the genres we could come up with.

The website I used to make the spider diagram was https://bubbl.us/

Brainstorm

Rapunzel

Film Name - Rapunzel
Actress - Talulla McNeilly
Genre - Reality, Thriller
Our idea for the two minute opening to our film is;
Talulla is out in Hastings town when she receives a text from her mum telling her to come home, the camera shots consist back and froth from both Talulla and her mother.

The idea for the film to be called Rapunzel was because the fact that Talulla's hair is red and long add a very symbolic feel to the opening. Also with the story line of the fairy tale was that her step mother was the villain, but the twist in our film is that the father is in fact the villain and the mother is the hero.

We choose Talulla to be the main character in our two minute opening because, one she has the long hair we were looking for, so it shows the symbolism of the the film title, Rapunzel. Another reason we chose Talulla is because she has a common interest in drama as she studied it for GCSE and now for AS ans A Level.

Storyboard

This is mine and Alice's storyboard, we decided to draw our storyboard because we found it a quicker alternative then using websites such as; pixton.com. We also decided to draw the storyboard because it will be easier to change it, if needed. Infact we filmed most of the film and have decided to change the storyboard as we found that viewers will find our film boring as we weren't 100% on it. We estimated the times on each scene, so most won't be definate until we have edited the final film. We also need to include the times as to when the production logo and the actresses name comes up, so the storyboard still needs to be improved to a higher standard.

Two minute opening task; shooting schedule

2nd January 2011
Actress - Talulla Mcneilly
Locaations - Hastings beach, town centre, train station and train

We used the storyboard as a guide, to help us know where was best to start and so on.
We decided on the day which camera angles to use as we thought this would be best as we could film different shots of the same scene and then we can later determine the best shot when editing.
We have filmed the majority of the scene but we still need to film some extra shots to make sure we have enough footage to work with to make sure it is the best it can be.