Book of Eli - Opening Sequence Analysis

Conventions of a Thriller Opening Sequence

The conventions and characteristics of  thriller opening sequences:

The opening sequence too many thrillers however different he genre be, can all draw similar characteristics and a normality throughout. When looking at some opening sequences and thinking of these characteristics I can confirm that some include;

·         Setting of the scene, this done through establishing shots or the use of the scenery/locations used. This is also seen throughout other genres to.

·         Introduction of characters, this is however seen throughout most genres.

·         An enigma of some type or a reference to something later on in the storyline. These provoke the audience asking questions which shall be answered later on but intrigue the audience to carry on watching.

·         Music, weather this is through deep percussion instruments or through other types of sound there is dramatic music.

Some examples of opening sequences that include these conventions and characteristics;

Inception (2010):

Directed – Christopher Nolan

Budget - $160,000,000

Gross Profit - $825,532,764

Genre – Action, Adventure

Examples of conventions used- Deep orchestral music used throughout the opening scene, with minimal use of dialogue. Another use is an enigma used in the form of the children, and initiates questions like: Why are they there? Who are they? Finally the setting of the scene has also been done not in terms of the whole film but in terms of that scene we are made aware it’s a beach, by the sea, and then are made aware that there is a house or building of some description of some type.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VXkUzf1et4

 

Cowboys and Aliens (2011):

Directed – Jon Favreau

Budget - $163,000,000

Gross Profit - $174,822,325

Genre – Western, SciFi

Examples of conventions used – The first obvious convention used is the setting of the scene like any, its shows a panning shot revealing a western, outback landscape with credits. The introduction of the main actor is then followed in an orthodox fashion of jumping up from the bottom of the screen. Could suggest many things from this however the seeming one is that he has woken up from being asleep or knocked out. The use of a futuristic bracelet and wound both act as enigmas together making the audience think like any good film about what are they and why are they there? This is enigma is also made noticeable to the character as he looks inquisitive as to what it is.

 

http://www.movie2k.to/Cowboys-Aliens-watch-movie-789173.html

Journey to the Centre of the Earth (2008):

Directed – Eric Brevig

Budget - $45,000,000

Gross Profit - $101,702,060

Genre – Comedy, Children, Adventure

Examples of conventions used – Wasn’t Able to watch the opening sequence.

Questionnaire Feedback Analysis

Question 1 – What is your age range?

I had chosen to put this question primarily to see what types of people were undertaking my survey and the sort of ages I had. By adding this question I could see if I had a varying age range and something that would increase the reliability and validity of my results. The results I gathered from the question were my age range and the majority of ages that took my survey. Here is the data that I extracted from my survey collection of data and input into Microsoft Excel and formulated this table.

As you can see from the graph I had a majority of participants in the 16-30 categories however I did have participants from other age ranges so the results are more valid and reliable than that of a single age bracket. The age brackets themselves are also 15 years in separation which leaves room for variation throughout the single age bracket.

Question 2 – What is your gender?
Question 2 involves another generalised question to find out the statistics of the participants in my survey. This question was basic and allowed me to see if I had an even mix between males and females doing my survey. This way there was no bias nature towards female orientated answers and that of male orientated answers. This like question 1 increases the reliability of my entire survey.

Here is the doughnut graph I created in the same process as the rest. The split difference between 14 males and 19 females that conducted my survey, this was possibly as close to an even split between the two as I was going to get. This question like the first question doesn’t help me to make decisions about what to or not to include in my thriller opening sequence.

Question 3 – How often do you watch films?

This question was added to find out background information to the people taking part in my survey and how often they watched films so would be more suitable to answer my survey. In contrast I could see how the people that didn’t watch films often might be intrigued and persuaded to watch more, therefore this data is also necessary. Below shows the graph I created.

This graph shows me that throughout the people taking my survey the majority watch films either once or more than once a week (Red and Green segments). This puts my results again in high validity as to they are people that have seen films and are knowledgeable enough to know about whether the film is good. On the opposite end of the spectrum the people classified under the purple and light blue segments which represent the once a month and more than once a year categories. These peoples input is beneficial to me maybe more so than the others as it gives me the opinion of none film lovers and what they feel could be done to make films more appealing to a wider audience something I will be looking to do with my opening sequence.

Question 4 – What’s your favourite sub-genre to be coupled with a thriller?

Question 4 is the first question that really finds out information that will be directly beneficial to me and my decision I make. This questions looks at what type of sub-genre the audience would like to see in my thriller whether that be from action, SciFi to comedy something that is vital to me and a reason I included this question in my survey.

The genres I used in the categories were what I though main different genres. This pie chart allows me to see that there are a certain few genres that are high scoring and higher percentages in the audiences mind. For example Action, Horror and Comedy are the three biggest areas of the pie chart with other genres coming in comparably below that like Psychological, Dramatic and Romantic. I can see from this clearly that if I want my thriller to be attractive to the public then I should follow the information provided to them. I can go for a Horror or Comedy style picture however I feel the best genre with the basic plan I already have would be action.

Question 5 – What is your preferred opening sequence style?

Question 5 was incorporated by me as a way of seeing how I could deliver my idea across in a way which the audience would be appealed by. This question is a main focus for my survey and I from this question I would take into account the information and make a decision on what I film goes best with my idea and also the results from this question.

It’s clear from this graph the results were heavily in favour of the setting of the scene. This is roughly kind of what I had predicted before distributing my survey. This was also the general direction I was going to aim towards anyway as it’s one of the conventions and characteristics of a thriller opening sequence. However I’d like to push these I still feel to make my film successful it should abide by some of the normal codes. The idea I have started to think about will also fit with the setting of the scene, something which is also obviously popular with the audiences.

Question 6 – How would you prefer the opening sound to be?

This question was aimed directly at sound and is the first part of the sequence of the questions on sound. I was unsure when I was thinking through ideas in my head as to how or whether to use sound or not so I added this question to get an influence from the possible audience to my film.

From the bar graph that I’ve created from the collated data, shows that the combination of all of the sound styles was the most popular with 18 out of 33 preferred this sound. This has altered my decisions that I have made, and I’m now taking into account this way to portray sound in my opening sequence. This answer that was chosen is a generalised answer and something where I can happily chose between any of the answers.

Question 7 – How would you prefer the musical genre?

This question is a crossover from the last question and designed to allow me to see what style of music if I incorporated it into my opening sequence would be most preferred by the audience and the general film loving public.

This bar graph shows clearly that there is a majority towards the classical, orchestral music being played during the opening scene compared to that of rock, rap or pop.  This is what I had roughly estimated from my initial idea as it would fit with my plan. I want the opening scene to be more relaxed and to involve a twist rather than a fast action paced start.

Question 8 – What is your favourite film?

I included this question into my survey as a general question to see how the public felt about films and what was memorable to them in their eyes. By not wording the question specifically to thrillers it meant I could see in general what they like: if I’d asked for favourite thriller then they’d have had to think and made a decision rather than the first thing to pop into their head.

The answer that6 I received from this question were written down so I was not able to formulate a graph to represent the data however I have used the data and inputted it into this list and then I can research into and look at the different films chosen and reason why they were memorable to the audience. Some of the films that were chosen by the participants included:

·         Pulp Fiction (1994)

Genre – Thriller, Crime

Director – Quentin Tarantino

Budget - $8,000,000

Comments – It was good that someone thought this was their favourite film as its also classed as a thriller and something I can look at to see how they have maybe started off the film or what is done throughout that makes the film so memorable.

·         Taken (2008)

Genre – Thriller, Action

Director – Pierre Morel

Budget – $25,000,000

Comments – This film was chosen three times and is highly important because like Pulp Fiction it’s a thriller and something I can again look at and see what has worked well especially seeing as its come up three times in my results.

·         The Sentinel (2006)

Genre – Action, Crime, Thriller

Director – Clark Johnson

Budget – $60,000,000

Comments – This film is a Thriller and is a fast action paced style of film something that is a convention throughput a thriller. I would look at this answer and take into account that films that are remembered by the audience are fast paced high octane thrillers.

·         Other Answers were:

·         V for Vendetta  (2005)

·         Top Gun (1986)

·         Vanishing Point (1971)

·         Cast Away (2000)

·         Inception  (2010)

·         Seven Pounds (2008)

These answers can also help me with my planning and brainstorm as I can see what they have done to make them memorable to the audience. I realise that even though these films might not be under the Thriller genre I can still see the general pattern and direction that they have gone and how they have conducted and produced the opening sequence linking to the second part of the question (Question 9 below).

Question 9 – Do you have a memorable opening sequence to a film? (If yes please specify)

This question was aimed at getting inspiration for an opening sequence idea and what things are memorable to the audience or what they felt worked well. The question was worded so that the participant could chose weather they had a memorable opening sequence to a film, as I wanted it to be a genuine favourite sequence not a thought up answer.  In response to this question out of the 33 that took part in my survey I gathered 15 yes’s. The answers in which I gathered where not of entirely thriller genre however I wanted this as I feel that similar bridges can be drawn from other genres as many cross over in films. Some responses I got that I conducted further research ion where:

·         Book Of Eli (2010)

Genre – Action/Adventure

Director – Hughes Brothers

Budget – $80,000,000

Comments – When this opening sequence was chosen as memorable by the participant I had a look at it and have decided to do my ‘opening sequence analysis’ on it. Although the genre to this film is not a thriller it does still possess a lot of the characteristics of a thriller opening sequence. I can see how this is a memorable piece and one I can look to for inspiration for my own opening sequence.

·         Memento (2000)

Genre – Mystery, Thriller

Director – Christopher Nolan

Budget - $5,000,000

Comments – This film’s opening sequence has helped me with my own planning and ideas and has allowed me to see another popular well-loved opening sequence and how it is created and try to mimic or expand on the areas it worked well in.

·         Gladiator (2000)

Genre – Action, Drama

Director – Ridley Scott

Budget - $103,000,000

Comments – This film’s opening sequence is again not a thriller genre however a similar is with it being high octane and suspense building. This is something I can look to incorporate into my own thriller and try and add different dimensions from other thrillers as well.

·         Some other answers included:

·         La Haine (1995)

·         Twilight (2008)

·         Step Brothers (2008)

·         Son of Rambow (2007)

·         Lion King (1994)

·         Romeo and Juliet (Baz Luhrmann's) (1996)

All of these answers can help me to see what to and what not to do in my opening sequence. I can take the positives from some of these and discard some ideas I might have if they seem to obscenely wild compared to these popular opening sequences.

All of this information from my survey can be used to either think, create or incorporate new ideas and advance my own ones already.

Questionnaire

Here is a version of my questionnaire, that I’d sent out to people via Email (across the school network) social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and through hand-outs.

I had chosen to conduct a survey as it gave my local, genuine knowledge I could rely upon when making decisions about my Thriller. I include generalised questions to see if there were any trends in age ranges or gender and also in people that possibly watch movies on a more regular basis compared to those that don’t. The questionnaire is compiled of nine questions created by myself across the online service Surveymonkey.  The questions I chose to incorporate were;

1.       What’s your age range?

2.       What is you gender?

3.       How often do you watch films?

4.       What would be your favoured sub-genre to be coupled with a Thriller?

5.       What type of opening sequence would you prefer?

6.       How would you prefer sound to be portrayed in the opening sequence?

7.       What type of music would you like to be used?

8.       What is your favourite film?

9.       Do you have any memorable opening sequences to a film? (if yes please state what film)

Thriller (Genre)

Overview:

Thriller is a type of genre that defines a certain type of film including certain characteristics involved with the thriller genre. Typically the thriller genre has many characteristics however some common themes and trends involved with a thriller include an antagonist and protagonist that enter into a feud between one another with the protagonist becoming victorious(in most cases). Some other common factors that are present in thrillers is the ‘edge of you seat’ feeling, also the plotline which focuses on a certain point/mystery that must be resolved. Although these are some general trends in the overall thriller genre there are sub-genres and a vast network of interwoven genres that contribute together making characterization of these somewhat harder? However there are also one or two main components involved in sub-genres including crime thriller involving a case or a crime that is needing to be solved or where a villain is being pursued by the police or the law. Another sub-genre includes psychological thrillers in which there is confusion incorporated either within the plot with the case or the protagonist themselves being caught up in obscure circumstances. For example the psychological thriller Black Swan by Director: Darren Aronofskyin 2010, involves a seemingly classic thriller setting with a protagonist and antagonist battling for a role however it’s a figure of the protagonist’s mind and she left causing damage to herself in belief that she is defeating the antagonist.  These sub-genres can also be set apart from one another through the dialogue, set and props which are all defined in these different sub-genres.

Defined:

There are many ways in which a thriller is defined however the main recognised one through universal language is ‘one that thrills, a work or drama designed primarily to hold interest with the use of intrigue, adventure or suspense.’

Another way within the more media sense of the term is defined as being a ‘rich literary feast’ where James Patterson goes on to say that the way in which thriller can be shaped and moulded into all these sub-cultures and genres leaves vast room for expansion. He also more deliberately defines them as being an ‘intensity of emotions that create a great sense of apprehension and exhilaration.’

For myself I define the thriller genre as being ‘a way in which someone is kept watching in pursue of self-excitement and a desire to be pushed to limits of suspense and cause a feeling similar to that of a roller coaster ride.’

Sub-genres:

These sub-cultures and sub-genres that have branched out from the mainly defined thriller genre are political thrillers, crime based thrillers, conspiracy thrillers, psychological thrillers, spy thrillers (I feel this can be seen as a convergence of crime and conspiracy) supernatural thrillers, technological thrillers. These sub genres are not the entire range of sub cultures and variations of themes in thrillers there are evidently more however these have been the most noted and have noticeable and recognised characteristics defining them from other types of sub categories. As you go through the list the name of the sub genre gives away the main characteristics for example supernatural thrillers include ghosts, demons, haunting and unexplained phenomena’s a prime example of this type of thriller is the Paranormal Activity trilogy in which the characters are pursued by a demon, it was directed by Oren Peli in 2007, 2010 and 2011. This genre specifically usually entails a supernatural form, someone on the receiving end of a haunting and attempts to protect or defeat the supernatural forms, these thrillers also predominantly end openly allowing for the audience to be scared or shaken believing that the form is still out there somewhere. Other genres like conspiracy thrillers take on the widest range of sub genres categories for example the genre might be a conspiracy thriller with a religious narrative making it religious an example of this is The Da Vinci Code directed by Ron Howard in 2006. Conspiracy thrillers can also take on sub-sub-genres such as a doctor conspiracy thriller like Awake directed by Joby Harold in 2007, also thrillers containing a political sub genre including JFK directed by Oliver Stone in 1991.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)#Sub-genres_in_film

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thriller

http://www.imdb.com/

Film Industry

The film industry consists of a conglomeration of different types of technical and commercial institutions of the film making process. The basic process itself consists of:

·              Development

·              Pre-Production

·              Production

·              Post-Production

Development - The first area of development involves the director or producer finds the storyline or narrative in which they wish to follow for a film. Some ideas where these stories or narratives can be picked from are books, plays, true stories or an original idea. This idea is then passed to the screenwriter who will adapt the idea or story and make it suitable to be filmed and shot on camera.

Pre-Production - After this process has been completed the now script is taken to pre-production which basic consists of departments or institutions like casting, props or location scouting. The idea is now drawn up to a storyboard so there is a basic visual representation of the final product for viewing. Its possible for some films to be stopped or altered at this point as after this point it will be hard to make noticeably modified. This step involves everything that happens prior to filming of the film.

Production - This is the well known stage which involves the actual physical making of the film it’s the basic stage of them all as the main aim of this stage is to correctly and precisely follow the instructions from the storyboard. The director or producer might make small adjustments for example shots sizes, directions. The main companies involved during production is, filming, and the basic coming together of props, locations and actors so it’s the assembly line to make sure all the right equipment and aspects are needed in various places at different times.

Post-Production – Finally this stage is the step by where is everything that happens after the end of filming and shooting. The main aspect the film itself goes through is the editing together of shots again following the outline of the storyboard. Like the production stage it’s the assembly of all the parts of the film to then be distributed. This step also covers the distribution phase where the film is created and sent out to cinemas usually then onto DVD, Blu-ray and VCD or straight to the consumer.

Throughout this process there are specialised companies that handle certain areas however there is a major few that control or dominant over others. These companies are predominately cross media convergences that will either have wings from all steps of the process or have affiliated companies to work in partnership with.

In the USA some major companies include;

• Walt Disney Pictures

Famous for films such as;

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Budget - $2,000,000

Gross profit - $184,925,485

• Universal Pictures

Famous for films such as;

The Extra Terrestrial

Budget – $10,500,000

Gross Profit – $792,910,554

• Hollywood Pictures

Famous for films such as;

Prefontaine

Budget – $8,000,000

Gross profit - $532,190

In the UK although it’s a less evolved filmmaking industry, this is because there is so much cross media convergences and the use of synergy, but still has some big companies like;

• BBC Film

Famous for films such as;

Made in Dagenham

Budget - $5,000,000

Gross Profit - $12,395,087

• Film4 Productions

Famous for films such as;

Four Lions

Budget - £608,608

Gross profit - £301,527

• Working Title Films

Famous for films such as;

Billy Elliot

Budget - $5,000,000

Gross Profit - $109,280,263

Another recent filmmaking industry (Bollywood) that has some big companies working within it is India with companies like;

• Cloud Nine Movies

Famous for films such as;

Mankatha

Budget - $8,800,000

Gross Profit – 28,600,000

• Aamir Khan Productions

Famous for films such as;

Delhi Belly

Budget - $5,500,000

Gross profit - $20,240,000

• Dharma Productions

Famous for films such as;

I Hate Luv Storys

Budget - $3,740,000

Gross profit - $15,950,000

Hollywood:

Hollywood is located in Los Angeles, California, USA and is a district of the city. It has become famous of the Hollywood, filmmaking history and industry that reside in the area. Hollywood is considered the home of big films.

The origin of the industry came in 1910 with the director D.W. Griffith who was sent by the biograph company to create the first movie a short 17 minute masterpiece titles ‘In Old California’. This was the first movie to be produced in Hollywood and would be seen as a phenomenal stepping stone. This success combined with the only company set up the Biograph Company paved the way and meant that many movie makers and actors headed out to LA.

From this original stake the industry and area began gathering momentum and increased every day with movie makers and actors during the 20^th century the set up of ‘nickelodeons’ nicknamed after there entry price of a nickel. Many of the big industries today set up at this time including the Warner Brothers and William Fox who switched to the production side of the industry.

Hollywood at this time booming with talent and the industry thriving gained more directors, movie makers and actors during the war some for example: Alfred Hitchcock and Marlene Dietrich. These were famous for work on films such as, Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1948) Morocco (Dietrich, 1930).

Final Preliminary Task

Planning Preliminary Task

The brief for the Preliminary Task is to have a character entering the room and having a four line dialogue with another character opposite one another. I have chosen to do my preliminary task with a morning setting where a character walks downstairs and goes into the kitchen. The dialogue for the two characters is going to be;

Character 1 (woman): Hello good mornings how are you?

Character 2 (boy): Good thanks.

Character 1 (woman): Fancy a cup of tea?

Character 2 (boy): Yes please.

I have chosen this short storyline and basic dialogue as it’s easy to construct and will also be shot in my own kitchen. The props and costumes for this preliminary tack will be casual comfy clothes something that you might wear when you just wake up about of bed.