Film Opening Continuity task

The opening to the Shining begins with an extreme longshot establishing the setting of a large natural lake surrounded by mountains and forests., this shot  tracks in towards a focal point as if imitating the flight of a bird, from its perspective. The shot then arcs to show a better view of the mountains, before dissolving into an extreme aerial shot, tracking to show the subject of the scene, a car, from the rear which it follows. This then cuts to another extreme long shot, this time at a high angle, continuing to follow the lone car on its long  journey through the setting. Again, the sequence cuts to an extreme aerial shot continuing to track the car, however this time tilting and arcing as it tracks in to the car, as a close-up, before tracking back out into the sky again. Another aerial shot is then used to show the car continuing on its seemingly endless journey, until the car is shown passing two cars- suggesting that they are not quite isolated, however, it then cuts to a much longer establishing shot to show a much darker area, before cutting to another establishing shot of a snowy landscape, and in the final shot, zooms into a large building- suggesting this is the setting of the film.

Within the sequence, all of the shots are long-range or aerial and are all positioned from behind the subject - the car, therefore make the audience feel distanced from the characters and aware of the setting, with the entire sequence consisting of the camera tracking to follow the car, at the sam constant smooth speed to make it seem realistic.

 As for the editing of the sequence, the quick clean cuts make it clear that it is a continuing narrative, with the occasional fade effectively highlighting the change of setting. Furthermore, the length of the opening is long enough to show to true isolation of the setting, but too long as to mislead the audience or bore them, along with the soundtrack this alludes to the horror genre of the film. 

Continuity wise, the sequence is seamless, with the smooth flow causing suture, and suspending the audiences disbelief, neither the 180 or 30 degree rules are broken, as the camera remains behind or above the subject the entire time, with the shot order structured to  introduce the setting, before focusing on the characters car, then returning to  show the location. Additionally, the match cuts show the pace of the car continually driving, and the fades indicate the change in time as a new setting is shown further along the journey, with match -on action consistent to allow the audience to feel as if they are a bird following the car on its long journey.

Continuity task

In order to maintain continuity within our accident sequence, we used a master shot to introduce the setting of the scene- a sports field and hurdles, and to show the main character. Then we cut to a mid shot to show the main character's expression and highlight that he is warming up to run over the hurdles. We then cut to a rear shot of the character preparing to run, sticking to the 180 degree rule, and made sure that the cut seemed to continue from the last smoothly. We then cut to another low-angle shot of the character continuing to run, again turning 180 degrees, and then a side-on shot of the character continuing to his last hurdle, and beginning to fall, before cutting to a low angle close up showing the character lying on the floor to show that he has fallen - overall a range of shot types were used.

In hindsight, in order to improve the narrative flow of the accident sequence, I could have included a wider range of continuity techniques. For example, I could make sure that every cut in the sequence applies match on action, so that the scene flows realistically and smoothly. Also, I now know that when filming, we broke the 180 degree rule, in the two last shots, this could make the accident look less believable and made the overall sequence confusing, as it looked like the character had changed directions. To improve this, I would keep the camera in the same direction as the other shots to ensure match-on action.

Film Opening Analysis

Film Opening Analysis - "Full Metal Jacket"

Genre: War/Drama

Summary of Sequence

The opening scene for the film begins with old-fashioned war-related music playing in the background - showing that it is set in the past, with a fade into the logo of the producers of the film - Warner Brothers, and then continues to the title sequence - first, text stating the producer's name, and then in larger text, the name of the film. This then cuts to the close up of a sad looking man in his early twenties having all of his hair shaved off in what appears to be a small barbers, and then cuts to many more close ups of men having their hair shaved off, looking miserable, before ending with the shot of a pile of hair on the floor, with the music fading out.

Events & significance in narrative

The introductory music is relevant to the story as the lyrics describe how many American men are having to join the army to fight in a war in Vietnam, suggesting that this is what the film will be about. Furthermore, the fact that many different men are all having their hair cut off at the same time reinforces the idea of joining the army, with the focus on their negative facial expressions suggesting that they do not really want to have their hair cut or join the army. All the events link together and are in the same short time frame therefore we can establish that the film will follow the characters through the war.


Characters

In the opening scene, many characters are introduced, however they are all adult males of the same age group, and we see them all getting their hair cut at the same time, suggesting that they are together, and will be part of the same group in the army. The fact that it does not focus on any specific one of the characters suggests that there may not just be one main protagonist, and that we will see what they are all like and their relationships with each other.It is not clear as to the role of each character, leaving the audience wanting to find out more about them.


Information Revealed

From the scene, there is some specific information about the film which we can gather - for example, the soundtrack makes it clear that the film is set in the past, and that the film is either set in America, or the characters are American. Also, the way that we follow all of the men getting their hair shaved suggests that they are joining the army, and they all look pretty reluctant, so we know that they do not have a choice as to what they are doing.The lyrics of the song also suggest that the characters will be sent to Vietnam to fight in the war for their country.However, it does not reveal who the characters are and what their personalities are like, or whether they know each other, therefore the audience are left wanting to find out more.

What I need to show in my film

I believe that in order for my own opening sequence to be successful, I must use an establishing shot to introduce the setting of the narrative, and then introduce the protagonist(s), however not reveal much about them, to give the viewers the ability to construct their own ideas to what the film could be about. I was also use the soundtrack of the film to allude to what it is about, and include a couple of close-up shots of objects relevant to the story line (eg. a murder weapon or bloody cloth). I will probably end the sequence with titles, firstly showing the director, and concluding with the name of the film in bold to grasp the viewers attention and suspend their disbelief.

Reflection On Shot

Shot Description

This is a medium close-up two shot showing a teenage male and female together in the setting of an old fashioned building facing a stage/platform and a cupboard with a large cross upon it. The shot is taken from behind at a straight angle, to give a rear view of the characters and make the audience feel like they are within the building. The focus of the shot is the two bodies are both sitting on separate chairs, however it is a soft focus to show that the setting of the shot is also relevant to the genre. Along with this, there are no bright colours within the shot, reflecting the negative mood of the characters. The light is natural to show that the film follows the daily lives of the characters, and their placement- separated by chairs, yet in each others arms- suggests that they have come to the setting together, and appear to be upset - alluding to the genre of teen drama.

How I achieved the shot

In order to achieve the depiction of this genre, I selected a large, empty school hall as the setting of the shot in order to highlight the fact that the characters are distressed and alone. Furthermore, I felt that a shot from behind of the characters would be more effective as it makes it appear as if the characters are looking up to the elevated platform in front of them for the guidance from somebody.

What is successful about the shot?

One of the successes of the shot is the use of the crucifix in the corner effectively alludes to their desperation. The use of medium close up was also essential as it enabled me to reveal the age of the characters and their relationship, however not reveal their faces, to leave the viewer anxious to identify the two troubled figures.

Possible Improvements

I believe that in order to make my shot more effective and clear as to which genre the film is, there are a few improvements that could be made, the first of these being the alignment of the shot,  if the framing was adjusted, it would be more clear of the size of the building, making the setting more clear. Another improvement would be to give the characters props to show what sort of people they are, eg. bags to show that they are on the move. Furthermore, the characters postures could be adjusted to reflect their roles in the film more clearly, eg. the male with head in hands, also, the image could be saturated to reflect the negativity of the story-line.