Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation

The 180 degree rule is a method that ensures a form of continuity in a scene. It makes sure that the actors are always facing the correct way. If you break the 180 degree rule it will seem like the actors are facing the same way as each other even though they’re looking in opposite directions. There is an axis (dotted line) that runs down the centre of the scene (through the centre of the actors and or objects) and the camera should always be kept on one side of the axis to ensure the rule isn’t broken. We incorporated this into ours during and just before the match on action shot. This is the pinnacle of our scene so we used this shot here to make it look even more impressive.

Match on action is an editing technique where it cuts from one shot to another that matches the same action that was being performed previously. For example, in our preliminary task there is a match on action shot revolving around a phone being handed over. As James, one of our actors, passes the phone over to Harry, the other actor, it cuts as their hands make contact so the shot changes to show Harry pulling away with the phone. By carrying over an action into multiple shots it creates a visual bridge and gives the impression of continuous time, even though they may have been shot at different times during the shooting process.

An eye line match is when a character is looking at something. As well as this it can be used to confirm what someone is looking at. For example, if a character is looking off screen out a window then there will be two shots. One of the character looking off screen, then another of whatever it is they are looking at. The eyeline of the actor must match what they’re looking at whether it be another person and or an object. We have used this as James is backing up the stairs whilst Harry confronts him about the phone. We do this through two different shots, one from behind James and the other to the side of both of them.

A shot-reverse-shot is where a character is looking at another character and then the other character is seen looking back at the first character, this is often done using over the shoulder shots and is most commonly used when there is dialogue between the characters.

The filming process for our group didn’t go as well as we’d have liked, this is not due to members of our group not having the knowledge of what to do but because a member of the group, who had all our work, decided to drop the subject. By doing this, we lost all our previous work and ideas and had to start again. This meant that we had to plan and film it all in the space of a couple of hours. The idea is generally the same but due to our lack of a storyboard we did miss out a shot-reverse-shot from the final cut. The actual filming was very smooth however, we had no interruptions as we specifically chose our location to be quiet and secluded and it was just that. We had a general idea of the shots we wanted and how they should look after our first attempt as we could essentially refine our idea further and they were more successful this time round. We got a good range of shots that add meaning and context to the film. We took multiple takes of each scene to make sure that we got one that’d work and look good in the final cut, this meant that we wouldn’t have to go out and film even more scenes in a rush because they weren’t good enough.

I learnt a lot about Adobe Premiere as I’ve never used it before. I’ve always edited anything on Sony Vegas on a PC and not a MAC. I learn how to cut clips down to the time frame necessary, add transitions, titles, change the lighting levels & contrast as well as change the time scale of some of the shots so they are now in slow motion in comparison to what they were before. This will help me to edit anything in the future more successfully and to a higher standard than I already have done.

Task 2.1 Research Into Existing Products: Conventions Of An Opening Sequence

Conventions Of An Opening Sequence



In an opening sequence it is important to display some form of credits at the beginning as you need to inform the viewer of the production companies involved and the actors. Also, it is most important to actually signal the start of the film with the actual title of the film.

After the opening credits it is very much necessary to give the viewer an enigma, or a hook for a better use of the word. This is to ensure a viewer is interested and remains interested throughout the duration of the film without turning them off before its really began.

Sound in any film is a necessity in the modern era but the first five, or ten minutes is the most important part. This is where you must strike the viewer with awe inspiring sound which is most often achieved through an orchestral piece. One of the best examples of this is during the opening scenes of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.

I think this piece is specifically exceptional due to the use of vocals as well as that of the use of the orchestra to give a presence of almighty awe capable of reflecting the battle it is played over. Diegetic sound is also an important part of and opening sequence as it gives the viewer a way of 'being there'. They hear the same sounds as the characters and it intrigues them, making them want more.

A wide and varied range of shots is also a valuable tool to be used during the production of an opening sequence. Common practice is to use an establishing shot as it informs the viewer where they are and what is taking place. In the video embedded for example, there is an establishing shot of the map of middle earth and also one of Dagorlad (the battle ground). Close ups are also an important shot to use in an opening sequence as it allows you to show the emotion on a characters face, in this clip they use a close up to clearly show the ferocity that Lord Elrond brings to the battle through a close up.

Correct framing stops unnecessary things from being in shot and keeps the necessary ones in it too. It is form of making sure continuity stays throughout the sequence and the rest of the film. It is also a way of highlighting certain things such as emotion and important characters to make sure the narrative is clearer.

One of, if not the most vital convention of an opening scene is a clear narrative. A clear narrative makes sure the viewer knows what is happening, when it's happening. A convoluted narrative is very hard to do and often results in turning the viewer off due to the confusion caused therefore a linear narrative is most often the route taken with only minor diversions occurring.

Cross-referencing, or intertextuality, is extremely important as bringing aspects of other films, or other forms of media such as books into your film, will create a connection with your audience if they understand the reference. A great example of this is the delorean in the film 'A million ways to die in the west'. However, if the reference isn't picked up and understood it can have an alternate effect, driving the viewer away therefore it is vital the reference is in some context and somewhat related to the genre as it is very likely they will share the same audience.


The pace and style of editing is another important aspect of an opening sequence as this will either entice the viewer or bore them. The modern 'Bond' films are perfect examples of this as they start with lots of fast cuts and the tempo is naturally high due them starting with an action scene. The style of editing will be roughly the same however it will vary as the pace of the film will speed up and slow down.

Task 2.1 Research Into Existing Products: Blue Velvet Opening Sequence Analysis

Blue Velvet Opening Sequence Analysis

The opening title fades into the blue sky, already linking itself with the title, which pans down leaving red roses, a white picket fence and the blue sky in the shot. A lot can be taken from these three items, for example. The white picket fence promotes innocence and an ideal home; it makes us believe that the neighbourhood is peaceful and is a paradise of sorts. The red roses connote love and passion and are the typical item displayed in films revolving around love and romance and Blue Velvet is the complete opposite of this. Also, the colours of these items: red, white, blue, are the colours of the American flag so it is suggesting that this neighbourhood is playing on the theme of an ‘American Dream’. These connotations juxtapose what is about to happen later on in the opening sequence. The freedom associated with America in this film is bad as the freedom allows bad things to happen in the film and can be seen as a justification for some of the actions made by the characters.

The next shot is a 1950s fire truck driving down the street whilst a fireman is on the side, with his dog, waving at what we can presume would be residents of the neighbourhood. The truck is in no rush to go anywhere and is just casually cruising, further connoting this idea of a paradise. Following this is a flowerbed, once more lined with a white picket fence, school children crossing a road guided by what is a ‘lollypop lady’ to us and then it cuts to a typical American home. All these connote innocence and perfection, setting up the scene for what would be a perfect family film which is very much wrong as the general basis of the film is strange and twisted.

After this it cuts to an elderly gentlemen casually watering his freshly trimmed and well-kept lawn with one hand in his pocket before cutting to the inside of his house where we see a woman, who can presume to be his wife, drinking tea and relaxing on the sofa watching television. It seems like they’re living in an ideal work where she doesn’t need to the stereotypical housework. On the television, she is watching a black and white film and the only scene we see is that of a gun in someone’s hand which is foreshadowing the event that is about to come. After this, the whole ‘perfection’ idea soon changes. We see the tap where he is getting the water from not working properly as it is spewing water out sideways rather than down the hosepipe. The pressure in the valve can be representative of the blood pressure of the man which is clearly raising as we can see him beginning to stress. The elderly gentlemen begins to wrestle with this hose presuming that the lack of water is due to the kink in it as it is also wrapped around a small branch. As he struggles to free the hose he suddenly collapses making gargling sounds as he falls to the only muddy part of the lawn having a stroke. All the fast cuts between his hose, the knot in the hose and the tap/valve on the wall where the pressure is increasing causes the tension in the scene to rise before reaching its ultimatum.

Following this, a rather ‘comedic’ set of events occur. There is an out of focus, slow motion shot, of the hose spraying water everywhere followed by a long shot of the man on the floor whilst a little Jack Russel bounces up and down on his groin area trying bit the water spraying out of the hose while a baby innocently stumbles down the driveway with its gaze fixed upon the scene taking place.  To end this sequence there is a slow motion close up of the dog ‘biting’ the water. This, like the gun, foreshadows what will happen throughout the film as you see the dog snarling and showing its teeth as it pounces onto the water with a lethal bite.

To end this opening sequence, we have what is almost a POV shot as the camera tracks through the grass all whilst zooming in constantly onto what is revealed finally as some cockroaches. Whilst this scene is happening there is a typically disgusting sound of ‘creepy crawlies’ squelching and clicking as they move.

There is a non-diegetic backing track across the entire sequence starting off with the song ‘Blue Velvet’ whilst everything is perfect and prelapsarian before fading out into a more industrial sound as things escalate (the gun on TV, the water spraying out of the tap etc.) before cutting to final scene with the diegetic sound of the cockroaches moving around.

The whole of the first part of the opening sequence is slightly out of focus and lit softly. Along with the dissolves and other transitions this makes it seem a lot like a dream or a memory rather than real life.