Copyright free music

For the music used in our opening sequence we compiled it using the Garageband software for the apple iMac. This ensured that nothing was copyright.

Initial Treatment

In my film opening you will see a young man walking down a busy street with his hands in his pockets, he is alone and wearing black jogging bottoms and a brown jacket with a high collar he starts walking far away so we used a long shot as he walked toward the camera. Next shot we see this man from across the street while cars are going past the titles are shown on the black tarmac of the road. At one point while the camera is panning in the second shot shot a van goes past blocking the entireity of the screen, we chose to use this as a wipe and changed the name upon the bottom titles. After the panning shot we come to a still shot of a house from across the road, our character enters from the left and walks across the drive , and glances in , at a second glance he notices something different.

Then we change the shot to behind the character as he walks up the drive. The next shot is from behind the glass on a close up on our mysterious character as he peers in , we then zoomed out to reaveal he spies sets of keys on a ledge jsut above a radiator , he glares at the keys. The next shot is from behind the man, he now picks up a bamboo cane and thrusts it through the letter box. Next there is a close up on the inside of the house of the bamboo stick coming through the letterbox. Next shot is a futher zoomed out shot and we see the stick edging closer to the keys placed upon the ledge. Next is a shot of the key ring with keys on, being hooked and slowly being pulled back towards the letter box. Then there is a fading transition where we see only the bottom half of a character from inside the house coming down stairs in a grey dressing gown. It then cuts to the man with the keys out side trying to unlock the door and get in. It zooms to a close up of the key ring and the key being inserted and attemted to being turned. Next it cuts to a view from inside the door of the man attempting to open the door and failing. We then see the man in the dressing gown's hand opening the door, this shot is zoomed in on the hand and the doorknob. It then cuts to the outside of the door with a shot from behind the man who was trying to brake in. The camera pans up from the man in the dressing gown's feet to his puzzled face. We then have a shot of the man who was trying to brake in, on his face where it then pans across to the wall and zooms in, focusing on a brick where the titles then appear.

The entire sequence is about a opportunist theif trying to brake into a house by stealing keys through the letterbox, this noise from the letter box then alerts the home owner who comes downstairs as the man trying to break in is struggling to unlock the door with the wrong key. The home owner the opens the door and looks quizically at the man trying to break in. While the would be theif is startled and surprised, it then pans away to the title of the film on a blank background of a wall, signifying a dead end.

Mood Board

The mood board is pictures , or pictures that represent feelings or emotions that inspired me to do my film opening.

Rough cut of film opening

The rough cut of our film opening , it still needs some work to do which is currently being done.

Animatic

Here is the Animatic of our story boards.

Film Questionnaire results

From this i have learnt that the majority of people who watch crime films are males, most being older than 16, i think this is because it takes some intelligence to understand the plot and not many people below the age of 16 may understand such plots, i don't think it appeals to the female market that much because its more violent and usually females dont like violence and crime. Mainly I think crime films appeal to an older audience 30 + because of such classic films like The Godfather making people want to watch modern crime films too.

From this I gather that my target audience is any young to middle aged male, although inparticualr 'chavs' because this may appeal to there way of life, or give them something to aspire to be because they think it might be cool. Aswell as the die hard old Crime fans , so middle aged well off men may also enjoy a modern day Godfather.

Film Questionnaire

Here is a Copy of my film questionnaire:

Film Questionnaire

Please Circle your answers
How often do you watch feature films?
Never Once or more a month Once or more a fortnight Once or more a week

How do you view these films?
Cinema My own DVD A friends DVD A mixture of all three

How often do you watch gangster/ crime films?
Never One or more a month Once or more a fortnight Once or more a week

Which is your favourite Genre ?
Horror Crime Comedy Thriller Romance Action

How many Crime/Gangster DVD’s do you own
0 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 20+

Do you have any favourite Crime/Gangster films ? if so please name them
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What if your favourite film ?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire.

Textual Research

In the opening scene of The departed the director uses sound, cinematography, editing and mise en scene to create a crime film.

In these opening first four minutes which plays there are clips from various riots in 'Boston, some years ago'. While this plays a monologue of one of the main characters played by Jack Nicholson ( Frank Costello) in this monologue there are racial slurs which tell the audience what time it is set in ( 1960's) and that this man does not respect other people this hints toward him being a mob boss. Also while Frank Costello is speaking an Track from the rolling stones in played 'Gimme Shelter' which also helps indicate the time period its set in due to their popularity at that time.

The Cinematography in this opening scene has been used to set the scene and the time of the film which in itself cannotes crime. the 1960/70's were a time of crime and riots while the black community got there right to vote slowly. It shows clips of riots and fights from the 1960's and 70's during the monologue and it pans following Frank Costello while zooming in on his side profile silhouetted face, as it zooms in it closes the frame on Frank's face making the audience take in more of what he's saying as there is less in the frame to distract them. I think this is done to make the viewer concentrate on his monologue which contains a lot of content which suggests crime. When there is a close up on the boy in the stores face to make the viewer concentrate on his expression this happens after the extreme close up on the boy's hand when Frank gives him some money. There is an extreme close up on this to signify that it is a key part in the film, Because of this the boy later on goes to work for Frank. Later on in the opening the boy is viewed in a medium shot with closed framing as he helps the priest perform i believe this is to focus the audience's attention on the boy's faith, Catholic, This is done because a big part of the Irish population is Catholic as well as it showing that he has belief and faith in a greater character. This character is later seen as Frank Costello as he talks/ brainwashes them into not believing in god.

Editing in the opening scene is used partly to tell a story by cutting between real violent clashes in the 1960/70's in America to then cutting to the film. a key bit of editing in the opening sequence is when Frank Costello is talking to a young boy in a store where it cuts quickly between to the store clerk packing items in a bag as Frank lists them out.

Mise-en-scene in the opening 4 minutes is very well presented to the 1960/70's with typical cars found in 1970's. Also the young boy indicates the time very well by being respectful to his elders a typical hair cut and clothing all of which indicate the time period 1960's to 1970's. Even the Diner where the majority of the opening scene takes place is stereotypical 1970's with a big grill and a bar with accompanying red stools

The best bit of media that i liked about this opening sequence was the main characters monologue set the scene without actually telling people what had happened, he did this by using certain dialect. In my final product I intend to use stereotypical mise en scene to help the audience realise my characters and settings. Also by using music to put across the crime genre with such instruments as : trombone, trumpet , violins and drums.

Here i have the entire film of American Gangster as i couldn't find a suitable clip but i will only be commenting on from 1:05 until 5:05

In this opening Scene of American Gangster it is clear from the very start that it is in the crime Genre but I'm now going to tell you how this has come across by the use of sound, cinematography and mise en scene.

Sound is used in the opening first 4 minutes to tell us how the film is heavily based on crime and mob/ gang culture, if the title didn't already give it away. Within the first 10 seconds I've looked at there is a non-diegetic sound of sirens in the background, assumingly police sirens which is mostly associated with crime. Also the man they are about to burn is talking quickly in a foreign language which may also infer gang violence as many gangs in America speak Spanish or Colombian. The mob boss while walking into the store is doing a sort of monologue or speech as he walks along with Frank Lucas played by Denzel Washington. The Mob boss also has a stereotypical mob boss husky voice one which sounds like he has smoked many cigars. Also as the mob boss is having a heart attack/stroke violins start to play to suggest that this is a sad yet important action. The news report that we later hear describes the mob boss to confirm the audiences suspicions that he is a mob boss / gangster because it wasn't actually confirmed until the news report exclaims it.

The editing has been used to create respect for the mob boss as most crime families do by always quickly cutting back to him. Also while the man is burning it quickly does a shot reverse shot to the man being burnt to see if there is any change in the mob boss but, the mob boss stays still and calm even while a man burns alive infront of him showing that he doesn't care for the man.

The cinematography in these opening 4 minutes has been used to great effect to infer gangster style ethos. For example when they enter the convenience store the camera pans across from a high angled point in the room as if it were a CCTV camera watching over the store looking at them like they were criminals (which they are). and once the mob boss dies and people are at his funeral there is a close up on Frank Luca's face showing his depressed and saddened face at his recently deceased boss, this is also common in gangster films as gangs traditionally have great respect for the dead and their boss.Just before Frank Lucas and the mob boss enter the electrical store there are close ups on their faces and only their faces are in focus the background is out of focus to make the audience pay more attention to the characters and what they are saying.

Mise en Scene in the opening of American Gangster could not come across any stronger. As in the 1960 and 1970's Gang culture traditionally more well established gangs wore suits. Also the Mob boss has a stereotypical over coat, scarf and bowler hat. Also the mob boss's aid/bodyguard/apprentice Frank Lucas smokes a big fat cigar before lighting someone on fire, both of these actions are associated with mobs and Gangs. In the news presenters report it states that the mob boss was an acclaimed 'Father of harlem' Mob bosses are often presented as fathers such as 'The GodFather' which is possibly the most famous Crime film ever made.

The aspect that i liked most about this clip was its focus very early on about the content of the film violent, action and still quite plot heavy, and the fact that it was based on a true story. I hope to use this in my own production as having the robbery/break in as a real possibility not some over the top bank heist, something real so that its more believable and hopefully mroe enjoyable for the audience.

This is the opening of Snatch a film by Guy Ritchie. In this opening i will inform you about his techniques on using sound, editing, cinematography and mise en scene.

The sound used at the start is traditional Jewish music as we see four Jewish 'rabbi's' enter a diamond holders in Antwerp,these Rabbis are discussing matters of the bible( Christianity shares some stories with Judaism) they are discussing these matters in a stereotypical Jewish accent as well to put across the disguise to the audience that they are Jews. Which makes it more shocking when the rock music kicks in as they pull out guns and rob the diamond place. Once the robbery is complete this then kicks into gangster style shady music as each character is introduced.

Editing in the opening sequence of snatch is well very styled as slowly paced as the 'Rabbis' enter the building as soon as the robbery starts the editing pace is quickened to heighten the excitement of the robbery. Also the editing has been used cleverly at the start to introduce each main character by showing there own ' what they do' clip each being around 5 seconds.

The cinematography in the opening sequences is different to many other films as the first 2:15 secs are views from security camera's all from different angles which infers in itself that possibly a crime is about to commence, although when the robbery takes place it is a series of long and medium shots showing the Rabbi's pointing guns and throwing papers about.

The mise en scene has been great in creating the illusion that these robbers were four Jewish rabbi's the traditional clothing and hair has been done to an almost over the top stereotypical fashion. As well as the actual Jewish men in the diamond place with kippa's and the Jewish hair curls ( i dont know the technical term). Jewish people are stereotypically rich and there fore all wearing suits and they are in a diamond company.

The thing that has inspired me most from this sequence is how it introduces each character so quickly and efficiently and that choosing the right music can be key.I would like to do a similar way of introducing the film title in my sequence, but i have recently found that this is not possible. What has influenced me from this film is editing speed to infer action, i hope to also use this in a suitable piece of my opening sequence.

Audience Research

American Gangster

Audience's age, gender, class

15-24 32%
24-34 31%
35-44 11%
45+ 25%

Male 62%
Female 38%

AB 20%

C1 46%

C2 17%
DE 17%

As we can see from the above information that the film is aimed at a wide auidence but mostly suiting the younger generations focusing on males primarily who are lower middle class. Rated 18

The Departed

Audience's age, gender and class

15-24 22%

25-34 28 %

35-44 14%

45+ 36%

Male 59%

Female 41%

AB 32%

C1 43%

C2 16%

DE 9%

From the data collected it is clear that The departed is aimed at mainly older, lower class males although it also does touch a wide audience, Rated 18

Snatch

Audience's age, gender and class

15-24 32%
25-34 42%
35-44 10%
45 + 16%

Male 57%
Female 43%

AB 24%
C1 30%
C2 21%
DE 25%

Its clear that 'Snatch' was meant for an maturing mostly male meant for all classes audience so i guess it appealed to a wide range of people by looking at these statistics. Though this may be due to the success of the directors other films such as ' Lock, stock and two smoking barrels' which was hugely popular and so this may of created a broader audeince for his future films.

All of the above statistics have been taken from www.pearlanddean.com