My AS task began with my research in which I went into depth, watching and evaluating a number of existing openings. I chose to research these openings by looking deeply into the sub-genre, British gangster.
To make my 2 minute opening look professional and realistic I had to research and then use the conventions of the existing films, looking at features such as mise en scene (costume, props etc.), sound, titles, camera techniques and editing techniques. As well as the films themselves, I looked at the companies responsible for producing and distributing these films and the funding available to them. This gave me an idea of how the films are made and what considerations were needed. From the research I found that typically, British Gangster films were limited to smaller budgets than other sub-genres, but focused strongly on themes of violence, drugs, comedy and realism. I made timelines of the openings of British gangster films, Snatch, Rock'n'Rolla and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Todorov, Propp, Barthes, and Levi-Strauss are some of the theorists I looked at and applied to the genre. This provided an insight into how messages are portrayed and represented in films, how films are structured, and provided me with ideas of how my opening should take place.
Finally, I researched into my target audience. With my research into these themes I thought about what kind of audience would watch these films. I then made a survey to do research of my own into the target audience. By comparing this to my previous research, I was able to identify what people wanted to see in an opening, and what I should include in mine as well as how the main character should be to relate to this target audience.
Planning
The planning stage was where I started applying my research with my partner, and begin to think about what would be in my opening, and how it will be shown.
We started with a presentation on our ideas which involved our characters, narrative, camera techniques, editing and sound. It helped with the bigger themes of our film and how we could produce these successfully to our target audience.
After my initial ideas, I began planning the individual aspects. I looked at costumes , character profiles and a props list. As well as this, I went out to find locations. I took a number of photos and videos of potential locations that fit the theme and style of a British Gangster films, that I would be able to use in my opening.
Once the props, costumes and locations had been decided, I began planning the narrative. I created a storyboard, detailing what would be happening in each shot, before going on to write a script for the opening.
After the narrative, I began deciding how I would be creating the opening. I decided upon a filming schedule, picked actors, and completed a risk assessment. I also continued to choose editing software, fonts for the titles, and the non-diegetic music for the opening.
Finally, I created a pitch for my plan and ideas, detailing every aspect of the opening and how it would be made.
Construction
The construction stage involved the filming and actual production of the opening.
To start, I went out and captured all of the raw footage for my opening, that I could then use to create my rough cut which was the original performance of the story, camera and editing. After putting the footage together, I was able to review the rough cut, and got feedback on it. There were a number of issues with the first cut and the initial footage that I was able to reflect on before going out to capture new footage. During the second set of filming, I had a much better idea of what was necessary, and successfully captured the shots I needed as well as some new editing and filming techniques I was advised on to help portray the themes and get across some of the real conventions of the genre.
After beginning to put together the second set of footage, I decided upon a number of changes that would improve the opening. Some of the feedback was to make the scene more urgent and fit with the action conventions of the existing films. Finally, after collecting all of the desired footage, I was able to edit it all together, adding the titles, cuts and edits that I had planned. I produced the final opening, which I then reviewed again and got more feedback, which was a huge improvement on the initial cut.
Evaluation
After the final presentations of the final cuts we each did an evaluation do properly review our use of mise en scene, camera, sound and editing and how this represented certain social groups.
I then went on to look at the institutions that might be involved in my film. I looked at who could produce and distribute my film, and the reasons behind this. I also continued from my planning, and looked into my target audience in more detail, suggesting who the typical viewer would be. As well as this, I asked members of my target audience what they thought, and what attracted them to the film.
After looking at the opening itself, I evaluated the technologies I used during the production. I looked at what each piece of equipment was used for, and what it added to my opening.
Finally, I compared my final opening to the preliminary task I completed earlier in the year. The final piece was a vast improvement, with much better use of just about every aspect. The shot types were much better, the equipment and quality was an improvement, and the editing was much more professional.
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