Practice Intertitles for our film

We created a practice inter titles short clip to see which ways would be most effective to include on our actual two minute opening of our film. We chose to use the colour themes of red and white as we believe the colour red links nicely with the thriller genre we chose for our film as the colour red has connotations of power, energy and more importantly in this case danger. The colour red in the case of the two minute opening of our film acts as a stimulant of blood for the target audience. For the mean time, we used the names of well known actors, possibly those we would like to use as a basis of the kind of characters we would like to include. However, once we know what people/actors we are going to use we will change the names of the actors included. Furthermore, we would like to use titles similar to these in our animatic storyboard, but, also in our final opening two minute piece.  The majority of the time the text is placed in the centre leaning mostly to the right as we would like the audience to focus on the action and the footage included and not get distracted by the text. However, for certain key things the text is placed in the centre of the page in the middle to direct the audiences attention towards these things. Such key facts are the production company, name of the film and the name of the distribution company.
In addition, we chose the colour white as it stands out and offers a great contrast in the colour themes. Although white connotes purity and cleanliness it also signifies safety which is why we chose to use it as it creates a straight forward view to the audience of how these both have very different meanings, not only with what they suggest but within the film as a whole. 

Preliminary Task

For my preliminary task, I worked with Anna and Seth. While carrying out this task I tried filming using as many camera/filming techniques and angles as possible. For example I tried using the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot (mainly seen in the part where anna and seth are having a conversation). Unfortunately, some scenes are a bit jumpy when transitioning from scene to scene so I would like to that so it will better when I come to work on the two minute opening of our film. Furthermore, through this task I have come to realise that it is very important to have a lot more footage if when you think it might not be needed as some may be better than others and may be useful for helping setting the scene and making the story-line flow nicely and effectively. The Preliminary task helped me learn a lot of things which will be useful when we actually do come to film the two minute opening of our film, as by that time I will have hopefully had an opportunity to work on the skills which were possibly not as effective.

Animatic Storyboard with intertitles

We made this animatic storyboard to help us see what the outcome of the two minute opening of our film would be like. For the format of our animatic storyboard, we chose to draw pictures on whiteboards of our shots. We then edited them together using iMovie. While we were editing this we decided to add our inter titles on top as well as some sound effects and music to help create a realistic idea of what our film  would look like if we followed this as a guide/template. I believe this will be very helpful as when we actually go to film our opening 2 minutes we will known exactly what kind of footage, scenes we will need to shoot. 

The Killing: woods scene

Although The Killing is a TV series, there are a lot of parts from the first episode, in the first 10 minutes (of series 1) which I thought could be very effective if used in the two minute opening of our film as I believe they manage to fascinate and draw in the audience due to its fast paced music and sound but also the cuts between two very different yet key characters.

One of the parts which I really liked was where we are introduced at the beginning to a character, which we have no idea what she has been through. Through the use of fast editing and fast cuts between shots I think that it allows the audience get a hint of what is going on and feel nervous as it shows both characters running. Due to their facial expressions however, you can tell which character is in a much more different situation as she is scared and is breathing heavily because she is scared yet the other character is breathing heavily because she is jogging. This makes the audience nervous as they known that the younger character is most likely in trouble and is trying to run away from someone, therefore feeling tense as they don't know if she will manage to escape. This also makes them feel worried for the other character as they don't know if anything will happen to her while she is jogging.

Additionally, I think we could use this in our opening. Instead of showing two key protagonists, we could show our protagonist and the villain to develop the story line further and allow the audience to question things and think further into the plot for themselves.  Just like in The Killing, we could create fast cuts of how the characters stories link and how their paths will cross. In the scenario of The Killing it is because the lady running is a detective which is then revealed to us 15 minutes in to the episode (she works the murder case of the younger girl) whereas, for our opening we could show that maybe Anna has escaped and her abductor is trying to capture her again or it could even be a family members journey trying to find her. This will leave the audience with questions, therefore making them want to watch the whole/ rest of the film.

I furthermore, think that it is effective how for the parts where we, as an audience are shown the younger character running, the screen (effects on top of the raw footage) is darker as it helps create tension mainly because this enhances the fact that she is alone and isolated. The loose frames help show this clearer as they make her appear much more vulnerable because she looks smaller in comparison to her surroundings.

Similarly, the close up of her face when she finally finds somewhere to hide is also effective as it clearly shows the worry in her eyes and fear she is feeling. This makes the audience sympathise with the character as her attire also connotes that she is a teenage girl all alone in the woods, fearing for her life with no one to help her. It also enables the audience to feel a little bit more relaxed as it might make them feel that she has a chance of escaping.

There is then a quick shot back to the Detective, where she is seen jogging. We could use this as it helps the scene, particularly because it is shot behind trees and branches, also adding tension as it makes it look like someone is constantly looking at her and something bad may happen. And then finally another quick cut is placed, transitioning to a shot where the girl hears a noise and in the far corner on the left we see a glimpse of light  and hear crunching of leaves as someones footsteps appear louder and louder walking towards us. The teenage girl is then shouting and crawling after she tripped trying to get to safety. This makes the audience panic as again after this it transitions to the detective finding something which looks like body but is a dead seal on the shore.

These parts would be very effective I believe, if used in the two minute opening of our film as it will help the audience create a deeper relationship with our protagonist. I'm glad I looked at the two minute opening of this as I feel like it will help a lot with developing on film and the storyline as a whole.  

Actors & Casting

• For our two minute opening of our film, we decided on having a teenage girl as a protagonist. A possible character/ actress we could base our protagonist on  is Blake Lively who played Serena Van-Der Woodsen in Gossip Girl. I think that she is a good example of a basis for our protagonist as although she is presented as a strong minded and popular girl she is also slowly showed throughout the series as a more trouble/ lonely girl who at times runs away from home in order to avoid her personal problems. She is also shown as a innocent and worried character which I think links nicely with what we are hoping to accomplish through our character.  

•  However, in the scene where our protagonist has a flashback we have decided to include a man to give a bit more detail of how the main character is in that situation without giving to much and also allowing the audince to get more involved in the two minute opening and question what will happen in the rest of our film. I think it would be very suitable if we use someone to play the role of the man in the flashback that has similar characteristics and features similar to Chace Crawford as he has played various roles some including ones which he play nice but also evil characters leaving the audience wandering what the impact of his role in our two minute opening will be.  As we cannot use these precise actors we would like to use some which will mainly remind the audience of these actors in order for them to establish a sense of what kind of characters they are. 

Average Audience Member

From the lesson we had where we went on Pearl and Dean in order to research we found out that our target audience are mainly males aged 15-24. This is due to the element of action which occurs in the opening two minutes of our film but also throughout the whole of it. Since our target audience are males aged 15-24, stereotypically these are some of the interests our audience member's would have: watching films, playing video games and socialising with their friends. This sort of age group has a lot of disposable income and will therefore be able to go to the cinema and take part in activities with their friends in their free time. Our audience member may also like mystery and crime dramas so this film could also appeal to them. Lastly, we are aiming our film to appeal and attract  more at teenagers as it won't be a stereotypical family film resulting in them more likely going to see this type of film with their friends rather than family members. 

Location Research

We chose the location for our film is Nonsuch Park. We have chosen this because we wanted to find a forest that was secluded in order for us to easily shoot our film without interruptions. Furthermore, there is a road that goes through the park which suggests we will be able to shoot and set up the car scene there. Similarly a unique point about Nonsuch Park instead of Richmond which was infact our 2nd choice is that there are a lot more isolated areas rather than at Richmond which gives us a great advantage in setting the scene as we want our main character to appear isolated and helpless. We could possibly for the first part of the opening scene we could the ambient sounds of the natural environment as it is calm and peaceful,  then we could go straight to the shots of the girl running in the forest to show a clear contrast.  Additionally, Richmond Park is a bit harder to get to and will therefore be harder to go back there in case we needed to film additional footage.  Another location that will be included in the two minute opening of our film will be a classroom in school as we would like to film the flashback there. However, we need to make sure to make it unidentifiable as a classroom to add suspense, instead making it appear like a small room or basement. This will also help set the scene as it will add a much more realistic feel to it and make it appear more successful. 

Shot List

This is our shot list for the opening 2 minutes of our film. We would like to have around 30-50 shots. However, when we go out to shoot the two minute opening of our film we might shoot more in order to have extra shots or even in between different shots that we have planned. In order to be able and add more techniques to our two minute opening and expand on the plot more to give the audience a chance to get a little more insight on the plot by giving more detail we added a flashback to it, in between some of the shots. 

Additionally, in order to make sure that we include everything when filming we are going to take the shot list with use so we also know exactly what we need to film. It is very important to film more than planned to have extra footage incase some of it isn't as good as planned or doesn't help it flow nicely once edited, similarly, shooting the same scene/parts in a variety of techniques and angles so we can actually decide which ones are best to use. 

Title- Stockholm Syndrome

• For our film we decided on the name 'Stockholm Syndrome' as we believe it can create more tension and questioning within the audience while they are watching the two minute opening as the title will appear at the end.

•  Stockholm Syndrome or capture bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy or sympathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them and also identifying with them.

• We could possibly make the storyline of our film that it is then viewed after the two minute opening from the point of view of the police officers that worked this case as it could possibly be a storyline of explaining who the kidnapper is and why he is the way he is which could be why she might identify with him.  Or even from the p.o.v of the protagonist as we want to include a flashback anyway, this could include hints of who her abductor is and why she may have feelings or affections towards him as she might know them. 

• For our title I think the font shown below is most effective and I feel brings a strong sense of intensity and disorientation to the film and links nicely with the storyline.

Appealing to additional Media Studies theories

I believe that our film appeals greatly to Blumler and Katz theory of Uses & Gratifications. 

• I believe that the two minute opening of our film gives the audience a sense of escapism mainly because it allows them to get away from everyday life and watch a very action and tension packed film, as it something they will most likely not have been through or witnessed on a daily basis. The two minute opening of our film will also allow the audience member to feel less stressed of their daily commitments any issues bothering them will not be on their mind. 

• I think that it will additionally, be a great form of (social) interaction because I think that the audience members will be able to create a relationship with the main character, as they may be able to identify with certain things the main character is going through. It can furthermore, create common ground for conversation in everyday lives as they will most likely be discussing to the build up before the release of the film, including trailers, posters to the actual release of the film and after viewing it. Although this is effective, it can sometimes be dangerous if people do not question and cannot differentiate between reality and fiction. 

• Through our opening, our audience members can definitely identify a part of themselves, either through our character or circumstance. For example, physical characteristic which they may have in common. This can go a long way in people's ideologies. 

•  I believe that through our film, especially the two minute opening our audience members gain an understanding and knowledge of the world around them by consuming/watching our product. For example, if they didn't know how easy it was to be taken by someone or even that there are people capable of carrying out such acts. As a whole, I do think that our final product is able to educate and inform the audience through a variety of ways. 

• A very important thing which I think our film manages to do is entertain the audience members as it adheres but also challenges generic conventions of a film within the thriller genre so the content will therefore reach and exceed their expectations as there are many interesting and intensifying scenes which I believe are very enjoyable as they manage to encourage and allow the audience members minds to develop further. 

Other than Blumler & Katz theory, I believe that the two minute opening of our film adheres to Dyers Utopian Solutions. 

• Where the audience members may be feeling exhaustion through their repetitive everyday routines, our film gives them a source of energy mainly because it manages to keep them engaged throughout, wondering what has happened and help them develop the storyline further in their mind to think of how it may end and what situation the protagonist will be in. 

• If the audience members are in fact experiencing feeling of scarcity, our film is able to give them a sense of abundance because (even if it may selfish), it allows them to feel better and appreciative of everything they have in comparison to our protagonist as they are in a much better situation than she is. 

• If the audience members are feeling dreariness, this could be because they feel as though their life is monotonous and is as a whole very predictable, our product brings a solution to that as I believe it manages to convey a sense of intensity to their lives because it could enhance their experience of emotion and encourage them to emotionally get involved without holding back even if they are expressing their emotions to something completely different.

•  If the audience members are feeling manipulation, our product will offer them a sense of transparency as although they may not be able to predict what will happen at all times, they will be able to have a sense or guess what will happen.

• The audience members may be feeling fragmentation, the two minute opening of our film however, will give them a sense of community as they will most likely be seeing the film with their friends and will therefore, feel a sense of belonging as they are socialising and interacting, which will them make them more comfortable and confident when talking to other people and will help them create new friendships as the film industry may become a common ground for them.  

Costume analysis

We want our character to appear that they are in a very isolating and scary situation. The outfit we will chose for her could possibly  indicate what kind of personality our main character has (stereotypically) through her style choice.  We want our audience to know that the main character is only a teenager and is dressed very casually, the form of her outfit takes one of a typical teenage girl as we would like her to wear something like a black pair of jeans, a top and a pair of converse.
We'd like our main character to have very messy/ knotted hair as I think it could foreshadow the situation our main character has found herself in. Furthermore, I believe her make up should also be very minimal to show how she is worn out/ tired and that the last thing on her mind is what her appearance is like as she is scared and alone. There should also be a few smudges of dirt on her face which are there to remind the audience of her journey running through the woods.

We would similarly like the main character to wear a hoodie, possibly oversized. The hoodie should also be muddy to show that she has been through a lot and has possibly fallen over in the woods a couple of times maybe because the adrenaline has taken over her initial instincts or maybe even because her hair is in her face. I think the hoodie also links with the stereotypical view of teenagers as mentioned above.

To link with the idea we'd like the jeans she will be wearing to be also very muddy/ dirty. I think this will be very affective as when the audience will firstly spot the teenage girl running through the woods it will leave the audience wondering what the character is going through, why she is running and if she is safe. Or wanting to question whether she is safe yet.



Lastly, I think that shoes are a very important part of the costume/ outfit. They are important because for a lot of the time during the two minute opening the audience will only be able to see the girls shoes while she is running through the woods. I therefore think that it is important that the shoes the character wears should be muddy and worn out.  We would like the main character to wear a pair of Converse as we think they are a very suitable choice of shoes, this is because every teenager has a pair of Converse in their possession. It is also a good way to leave the audience wondering what the main character is like; whether they are male or female and what age group they are in until she is finally revealed to the audience in different shots of her running through the woods. (when the shot isn't of her feet while she is running) I think the audience will not be able to tell any of the things above as Converse are trainers which people from every single age group have as they as shoes which have been around for many years. To conclude, I think the fact that our main character is a teenager and is dressed very casually helps draw in the audience as it will allow them to identify with the main character because our target audience are people within the same age group as the teenage girl.

Institution Research

During the institution research, I looked at the films I have been using as guidelines and have been including in my other research such as certificate and target audience theory.

       Taken was distributed by 20th Century Fox. This is one of the many companies that we use for our film as it makes the specific sort of genre we want to make. 20th Century Fox have created many films within the action/drama genre so ours could fit. Taken was produced by:

·         M6 Film

·         Canal+

·         TPS Star

·         M6

We have a variety of production companies we can chose from, this is very beneficial as we can decide later on which one will look better when we start shooting and editing the opening two minutes of our film.

Ransom is another film similar to ours which I previously looked at. This film was distributed by Buena Vista Pictures. We can't use this company due to the fact it no longer exists and Walt Disney Pictures has taken its place and they usually make films targeted for children. This does not link to our genre so we won't be able to use it.  Ransom was produced by Imagine Entertainment, Touchstone Pictures and Icon Productions. Imagine usually makes more some children and more relatively upbeat films so this may not be the right company for us. The majority of Touchstone films that are produced are dramas and other darker themes. This could be another distribution possibility for our film too. Icon usually makes thrillers and dramas. This is partly similar to our film (genre: drama)

The Hunger Games was distributed by Lionsgate Films. Lionsgate is mostly known for action themes which could be a good possibility for our opening. The film was produced by Colour Force, which is an independent company that usually makes movies out of books, since our film isn't a book, we will not use this company.

       Other companies that we could use include, Universal Studios, New Line Cinema or Warner Brothers as they make a range of different films from different genres. Paramount pictures could also be good as they make a lot of dramas.  Furthermore, we could also use Millennium Films and/or TriStar because they have made films such as Faster and Stolen and Olympus has fallen which fit in successfully with the film we want to create. I think it would be very suitable if the production company we choose (or at least one of them) is Tri-Star because they were the production company of an action drama film named Colombiana which is along the lines of what we want to create. Colombiana was also created from the writers of Taken which is the film we are using as inspiration/ guide. 

Certificate research

U (Universal): films which are suitable for all viewers. Some examples include The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, and Shrek.

Parental Guidance (PG): films are allowable for any age. However, some scenes may be unsuitable for young children under the age of 8. Such scenes may contain mild language and sex/drug references. Some examples of PG rated films are A Cinderella Story, Home alone and Maleficent. 

12: films which are for people of the age 12 and above. 12A rated films are usually given a 12 certificate when released on DVD. An example of a 12 rated film is Perks of being a wallflower. 

12A:  films which are unsuitable for young children. Cinemas are only permitted to let in children under the age of 12 if they are accompanied by an adult aged 18 and over. These films may contain views of soft drugs, occasional strong language, discrimination, reasonable violence and or nudity. Some examples are of 12A rated films are:  The Fault In Our Stars, The Hunger Games and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. 

15:  films which are only suitable for those aged 15 and over. Films within this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, and consistent use of foul language. Some scenes can also include strong violence and strong sex references, nudity without graphic detail. Sexual activity may be portrayed 
but without any strong detail. Sexual violence may also be shown if discreet and acceptable by context. Some examples are The Heat, Let’s be cops and 21 Jump Street 


18: Films which are only suitable for people aged 18 and over. Films within this category do not have limitation on foul language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed; explicit sex references along with detailed sexual activity are also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context. In addition some scenes in films within this category can also include very strong, gory, and/or sadistic violence. Strong sexual violence is permitted unless it is excessively graphic. Examples of films within category include: Taken, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Spring Breakers.



Through the target audience and certificate research I think our film will most likely fit under the 12/ 12 A category because this is where most action dramas are placed and our film will have moderate violence and certain mature themes. It will therefore, not be suitable for children under the age of 12. However, the certificate rating of 15 and 18 may be a little bit too high and will most likely lessen the variety of our audience members. Therefore, the certificate rating of 12 years and above will be most suitable as it is where most dramas/thrillers are placed. But if released at cinemas, it may be more reasonable if it is a 12 A due to the elements of violence and action as it is a psychological thriller.

Font research

I used the website Dafont to try out and research different types of fonts in order to see which one will be most suitable to use in our film. There were many fonts on that website but I managed to narrow it down to the ones above. I then looked over more films similar to the one we want to create and saw what type of fonts they use for their inter titles and credits and tried to see what each fonts connote and what affect they have and if they furthermore, link to the genre and the look we are going for.   I looked at films such as Taken, Faster and Stolen and saw that they use similar titles to the ones on the right. I think these fonts are suitable as they give it an edgy affect and  makes it stand out and gives more emphasis on what will be written/ displayed. I feel like it furthermore, goes with the flow of the film we are going to make ( I feel like the first one or other fonts similar are more appropriate than the second one). However, we need to try it out because some fonts look completely different when displayed at different sizes. Although many films may use traditional fonts, I think that they are not suitable in this case as we need the fonts to be gripping and bold. 

I additionally, researched on Dafont a couple of other fonts which brought certain hints of disorientation to them which I think links very nicely with the storyline of our film. The ones I like most are Nervous and Hacked as they look quite distorted and technical and other than this they also bring a more dramatic and intense sense to them. Similarly to the name of our film, these fonts link as there is a abnormal concept and makes it difficult for the audience to understand why the sufferer feels the way she does. To additionally enhance or foreshadow elements of what will happen in our film we would like to make one word in white and another in red to make it stand out more (possibly connote blood loss or distress and the white could connote an element of innocence of the protagonist). Furthermore, I think this will be best suited as white and red are popular in drama/ thrillers and usually appeal to the conventions of the genre.

Diary Post 4: 15th of October

In our lesson on the 15th of October, we looked at audience research and who the target audience for our film will be. I went on the Pearl & Dean website and looked for some films of a similar genre to the one we want to create. I looked at Taken, because we decided that we are using Taken as an outline and inspiration as we want to create a film of that sort of genre and we feel that Taken manages to accomplish that in a very affective way. I then looked at films similar to Taken and I found Ransom and Taken 2. I also used The Hunger Games even though it is a film with a different genre to ours. I used it because it has similar scenes that we'd like to include in our film. I learnt a lot through this lesson and came to the conclusion that the target audience of our film should be males between the ages of 15-24.

Music Research

 http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100778.

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400041.

http://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty_free_music/songs/atonement-2

http://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty_free_music/songs/being-followed

http://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty_free_music/songs/running-fields

I like the first  piece of non copy right music because these are the sort of soundtracks I'd expect to be played in a scene where there is a race as the beat and pace of the music get faster and faster. In addition, I think the last 3 were a much better find for the music of the scenario we are looking for due to the reason it creates intensity and has an affect of making you feel like you are involved in a situation as the music draws you in. I believe this is very affective as we want our audience to feel empathetic and identify with the main character of our film as I think this way it will have a better outcome and will furthermore create the atmosphere we are looking for.

Audience Theory

Through this research we found out that the target audience for Taken, are males aged 15-24 and are mostly in the middle class. It is however also relatively popular with older demographics.  The gender which mostly saw this film were males, this is mainly because they generally like violent and dramatic films. On the contrary, a huge part of Taken’s audience are female viewers, this could have been a result of the stereotypical view that women get more emotionally involved with the film. However, just like the male gaze, I believe the reason that Liam Neeson is the lead character is due to the reason that the mainly older part of the audience of females think he is a very attractive man, especially through his character and personality appeal, which I think has helped massively with challenging the stereotypes that only men enjoy watching action packed films. Similarly to Taken, I also researched Taken 2 and looked at the results in their target audience. The results again showed that the bigger percentage of the audience were male viewers, although since Taken the percentage of female viewers increased which suggests that when Taken 3 is released an even bigger percentage of females will be a part of the films audience. For Taken 2 the age group included the ages 15-24 again which suggest that they kept the same level of violence and scenes which may be inappropriate due to violent content, for children under the age of 15.

The target audience for Ransom, are mostly males, the class is mostly aimed at middle class (c1.).Similarly to Taken, Ransom almost has the exact same target audience. This is because the genre is in fact very similar; Taken is a Action- Thriller film whereas, Ransom is a film which genre is Crime-Fiction & Action. Again, just like with Taken the range of male viewers is much bigger than the female viewers due to the reason that it appears boys/men enjoy more action packed films than women. Furthermore, the results of this research suggests that Ransom is a much more wider enjoyed film as the target audience ages range between 15-24 (38%) and 25-34 (37%). This could also be a factor of the different genre of the two films. 

 The Hunger Games is a film of a completely different genre to the film we want to create, however some of the setting we want to use for our film is included in The Hunger Games. The gender percentages are very similar but there are more males which could show that overall action is more popular with males. Like the other films I looked into, the audience for The Hunger Games has a high percentage as part of their audience of males of mostly 15-24 in the middle class. This connotes that this is mostly what film makers of the genre action/ thriller target their films to.

To conclude, this research helped me begin to see what our target audience will be. I believe that from these target audience research screen grabs we can see what we should include to entice this precise audience. Examples of how we could accomplish this could be by using mysterious music and intense quick shots and a pretty female as the main character to attract the audience through the male gaze theory.  

Exemplar blog: 18/20 marks for research and planning

 http://thrillerblog2011.blogspot.co.uk/ 

This student received 18 marks out of 20 on their Research and Planning. I think the main reason to why they achieved this grade boundary is because although they only used 4-6 different technology formats they presented the numerous activities they produced on a very good standard and in a very interesting and sophisticated way. 

The main source of technology they used to present this information were: 

1. YouTube
2. Scribd
3. Prezzi
4. Screengrabs  

 Tasks they carried out: 

1. They recreated a scene of a film on YouTube 
2. Preliminary task & evaluation
3. Prop, character and narrative analysis which included screen grabs and film posters
4. Gender representations (male & female) analysis with screen grabs. 
5. Analysed posters
6. Music and sound track analysis 
7. They gave initial planning of their preliminary tasks ( scripts, outcome, story-board) 
8. Many two minute opening analysis 
9. Thriller sub-genres analysis
10. Film pitch PowerPoint analysis
11. Production and distribution research
12. Target audience research
13. Group planning
14. First shooting 
15. Editing to build tension in a film included screen grabs/ photos

Faster: two minute opening analysis

Faster is a crime/drama/action film made in 2010. The film is about a bank robber who was just released from prison that goes on a rampage to avenge his dead brothers death and is later on pursued by two relentless police officers and an eccentric hit man.

In the first two minutes we are firstly introduced with the films production company which is Tri-Star (picture top right). This gives the audience a rough guide of what the film will be like, as they are known for although making a variety of films, mostly making films of the genre action comedy. We are then shown the logo of Castle Rock Entertainment which is another production company. As shown just seconds after this we are told through these logos that this film has three production companies involved, one of which is CBS which is not only a film production company but also a distribution company which suggests this film might have a big audience but also may have high box office figures, as it might be very successful due to the combination of contributors.



We firstly see a man walking back and forth through a doors glass window. The man we see appears to be a very intimidating and strong character. Through what we see, the audience can come to a conclusion that this character is in a building that is not necessarily run down but one which its tenants may not care all that much about the appearance. Something for example like a government/council estate.

We then see this man walking back and forth from a birds eye angle. The confine space, the fact that this man is in a room which has a bed and a metallic toilet in one space suggest he is in a prison. (picture on the right). The actions this character is doing seem to be placed in order to make him seem worried about something perhaps for his safety as at one point we see scars on this characters body. His prison cell seems isolated in the sense that it appears he doesn't have many personal belongings linking to the idea that prisoners don't give too much away about themselves in order not to appear weak. 

The man then suddenly stops and stares at something. The  main focus, however is not on what he is looking at, but him. What he is looking at is blurry, suggesting that it is important to him as he may be focusing on it with a lot of emotion. The focus is mainly of him standing there looking at what we can make out to be a photograph. The thing that stands out most in this precise scene is the scar on the characters back, this prisoner appears very strong and muscular yet this scar seems to appear very big across his wide back although it is actually small in size. The scar gives emphasis to the fact that this character may not have had an easy time in prison suggesting that he may have been in brutal situations. Furthermore, the scar appears to be old but very deep connoting that it was very painful.

We are then revealed what the character was looking at. A photograph which has him and another man together, through this picture we can come to the conclusion that the person in the picture is perhaps a family relative of the main character, as their body language suggests that they are very close. The way we are presented with this scene suggests that this person had/has great significance to this man. In addition, this gives it away as we see that this photograph in the only thing that appears to be in this characters cell that may have personal value to him and that may give something way about him. We are presented the picture with the way that this character sees it; we see the picture from a shot that has been taken over his shoulder, the part of the man that is visible is blurry yet the picture is very bright in comparison to the rest of the setting in this scene suggesting that he is looking at it with a lot of emotion.  

The next shot is one which is zoomed in of just his eyes. Through this we see that this man is indeed looking at this photograph with a lot of emotions as although we can't see his whole face we can see his eyes. In this scene the main character looks content looking at the photograph, but then seems very angry.when we are introduced to him as the 'driver' , he has a very angry look on his face. Only half of his face is visible as it is bright from sunlight. The light could symbolize that this is a very important day for the Driver in some sort of way as we then see that the prison guards approach him to  take him somewhere which is not clear to us yet. From the beginning of the scene until this part the music is very upbeat and has a fast pace suggesting that this is a very adrenaline full movie. When this character is outside of his cell and is walking in-between the two officers the music continues however, the music becomes quieter while the sound of other prisoners, one by one shout while he walks across their cells. Each time the Driver walks past a cell the prisoners become even more aggressive towards him. 

 This tells us that he might have lost this person through a possibly horrible even and is distraught about it however, the memory of this person seems to keep him determined. 

Cinematography & plot:

I chose other scenes from the first five minutes of the film that I thought were very interesting and we could possibly use certain camera, plot and sound techniques for the two minute opening of our own film.  The picture on the right is of the scene after where the guards are taking him somewhere. While they are walking the music and aggressive sounds seem to fade away and become a part of the background, as the voice of the man becomes louder and louder as if he is narrating a story whereas he is talking to the Driver where their conversation actually takes place in the scene where they are sitting in this man's office. ( the screen grab Day 1). 

I liked this angle used in these scene for screen grab 1 because it is as though we are walking and seeing what the main character is going through which results in us empathising with him. Furthermore, I think it gives us a clear image of a sense of authority within the prison as it appears that this man has a higher authority to than the main character. I like how they used inter titles, for example labelling it 'day 1' showing that this character has a long journey ahead of him but still remains optimistic about the situation and is very focused.  

Furthermore, I like the next scene because while they are in the office and the man is talking to the Driver, we are again placed in his situation, making the older man's speach and image slow down and appear out of focus while the main focus is on the clock which is in his office suggesting that time is an essential factor to his plan. In this scene there is no use of music however, they want to show the importance of sound as the only thing we can clearly hear is the sound of the clock ticking and his heart beating faster possibly because he might be nervous for what follows after his release.
















In addition, I chose this scene because I like how as the main character is running it looks like every other five strides he makes another inter title appears with credits and the names of the actors in this film. Similarly, I like how it is a focused/ zoomed in shot of his feet while he is running and looks a bit blurry to match his speed and pace of how fast he is running or how he is feeling. Furthermore, I like how in the scene where the film title appears, the main character is shot at from a wide angle behind him, the background and surroundings look very isolated suggesting that the movie is action packed but the main focus is of him and what he is trying to accomplish when he is released from prison.

Lastly, I really the editing in the scene that I screen grabbed in the picture on the left. I really like how you can see him driving from within the car and can see him very determined. The thing I liked the most and am hoping we will be able to use or replicate in the  two minute opening of our film is how they made it seem that the speedometer is third dimensional. Through this scene we can assume that the speed may suggest the pace of which he taking things and is trying to accomplish his plans.


As explained above, I feel like there are a lot of techniques used in the two minute opening of the film Faster that would be very effective if we used in our film as it is a film within the genre similar to what we would like to make it. Throughout the two minute opening, I believe that it manages to capture the audiences interest and make them want to watch the rest of the film as it gives them enough detail yet doesn't give too much away.