First Draft of Opening Scene

 

 



This is mine and Paddy's first attempt at part our opening scene.

 

 

 

 

On the day of shooting the weather became as issue as it was very windy and lightly raining. This resulted in poor quality audio and lighting.

 

We will be re-shooting what we think we need to to acheive high level work. Furthermore, we will also use a new mic which atches to the camera to attain quality audio.







Donnie Darko

 

 

Donnie Darko is a 2001 American science fiction drama film written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze.

 

 

In the opening scene an audio bridge of thunderstorm over the text signifies horror generally, possibly connoting the darkness of the film. This thunder sound contrasts the opening shot where no storm is evident – suggesting the strange time shifts of the film.

Camera pans the scenery, establishing setting and with the use of lighting, again a hint at the darkness of the film.

Tense slow music is used as there is a pan on the central protagonist, connoting mystery, as does the onscreen action. With introduction of keyboard (with echo) it signifies a sadness to this character, which is further anchored by the shots panning the scenery.

 As Donnie turns to face the camera and laughs, again signifying the very strange side to this film, we have the film name on screen in a simplistic font The font “explodes” and fades to white before entering the next scene.

It then fades in from white into a shot of Donnie, now established as our central protagonist, riding his bike down the hill, with also the introduction of a different song – “The Killing Moon” by Echo and the Bunnymen – (Bunnymen links to Donnie’s giant rabbit friend Frank). Song links to genre, music and lyrics connote horror movie. The use of this 80’s song also signifies the date that the film is set.

The bike riding in this text has helped my group in filming our bike section. In terms of what works well and what doesn't, this clip has aided our filming (despite the difference in genre).

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BELOW IS THE LINK FOR DONNIE DARKO OPENING SCENE

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                             http://vimeo.com/25661457

Independant Audience Research



I have recently undertook some audience research in order to find out the best ways to market my product and to what audience.

 

My intended target audience is 15-20 year old. This was roughly the ages range of the sample of people that filled out the questionnaire for this audience research. The purpose of this was to collect relevant data that will support our planning and production.

 

 

This is the data we collected...

 

 

 

 

Leave a comment to let me know what you think!

 

BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom.

This is the website for the BBFC...

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

By using the information on the BBFC website Paddy and myself have concluded that our media product would be rated 15. This means we could include...

frequent strong language

strong violence

portrayals of sexual activity

strong verbal references to sex

sexual nudity

brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence

discriminatory language or behaviour

drug taking

We have decided 15 because we would not want the limitations that come with choosing rated 12 eg. no strong swearing, drug taking or sexual references.

Additionally, the comedy/drama genre is meant to reflect real life. Real people do swear and have sex and take drugs. So in order to make the media product as realistic as possible we have decided that we would include these elements.

However, if the rating was based just on the opening sequence it would be rated a U on the criteria of the BBFC.

Choose Life

Trainspotting is a 1996 British black comedy/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. 

The screenplay follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980's economically depressed area of Edinburgh. Beyond drug addiction, other themes in the film are exploration of the urban poverty and squalor in "culturally rich" Edinburgh.

The film has been ranked 10th by the BFI in its list of Top 100 British films of all time. In 2004 the film was voted the best Scottish film of all time in a general public poll.

Trainspotting has one of the most iconic opening scenes in British Film. The fast pace action is matched with the brilliant tune from Iggy Pop creates an engaging, stimulating opening.

The variation of camera shots make it seem like a lot is going on which reflects the nature of the film. Furthermore, the facts the two characters are being chased by policemen presents to the audience immediately the type of characters and hints and some of the key events that happen in the film. Additionally, the car hitting Renton may be seen a metaphor for his 'flirting with death' (heroin addiction).

The film includes so many iconic quotes and moments. The opening scene includes the famous 'choose life' speech. This for me is what makes the opening so memorable. 

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin can openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life . . . But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life: I chose something else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?