Detailed Synopsis

Start
Our Film opening will begin with a flashback. This Flashback will first contain a point of view shot from 'Molly' in the back of her parents car. We see the two parents (without sound) shouting at each other, distracted from the road. The next shot will be from a camera on the road, moving forwards, asif it were the car. This camera will be met with the blinding lights of another car. We see another shot from the inside of the car, of the parents panicking and braking (with the sound of screeching brakes). There will then be a sound of a crash, as the screen goes Black.
Close up, overhead shot of 'Molly' waking up suddenly from her flashback/nightmare.
There is another overhead shot of 'Molly packing her suitcase which is laid on the bed. The last thing she packs is her parents funeral leaflet, which me see close up (allowing the audience to know what has happened). From overhead again, 'Molly' closes her suitcase, revealing the edited title of the film, on top of the case - 'Hightail'.
From when 'Molly' starts to pack her suitcase, we hear various different voice mails from family and friends:
Example
"Hey Molly, hope your okay, where were you last week? I didn't see you at school, ring me when you can"
"Molly, Ive tried to phone you, but you won't answer, you can't hide forever, you can speak to me, it will be okay"
"Good Afternoon Molly, its Mr Stott, I hope you are well. We are concerned of your attendance in he past week, would you kindly have your guardian call us back, to discuss the reason for this. Thank you"
GAP
"Hi darling its Grandma, hope your up and packed, let me know when you are safely on the train, me and Grandpa are excited to see you, we have everything sorted for your new school. See you soon"

Flashbacks - Go pro
Younger brother shouting, crying, "Why did you have to live and not them?!"
Walking through hospital (MAYBE)
Shots back to original crash (heavy breathing, blurred)
Shots in cemetery, Molly at grave placing down flowers.

The journey
First there will be a shot of 'Molly' walking from the platform of Leeds station, onto the Ilkley train, with her suitcase.
On the train there will be multiple shots from out of the window, at scenic views, with 'Mollys' reflection in the window - developing from the city into the countryside.
There also will be shots from outside of the train, watching the train pass through the countryside.
She will then get off the train, at Burley in Wharfdale (there is nothing around except the station).
The train doors close.

Psychological Thriller History and Conventions

History

The film that started off the Physcological Thriller genre was the 3rd silent movie made which was called The Lodger (1926), which was a Jack the Ripper story. The director of this film was Alfred Hitchcock who also produced films such as Blackmail (1929). 

Technical Codes

- A very important aspect of the genre

Many psychological thrillers have emerged over the past years, all in various media (film, literature, radio, etc.). Despite these very different forms of representation, general trends have appeared throughout the narratives. Some of these consistent themes include:

•         Reality

•         Perception

•         Mind

•         Existence/Purpose

•         Identity

•         Death

Music - is used to create a mood of suspense throughout a psychological thiller. Most of which will be purely instruments rather than including a singer.

Shadows and Low Light - are used as a convention of all thrillers, to again create tension. Low lights limits what the audience can see and therefore brings a sense of mystery. In a psychological thriller low light can be linked to the dark thoughts that the character is experiencing in the deterioration of their mental state

Quick Cuts, Obtrusive and Montage Editing - are used mainly in important scenes of psycnlogicical thrillers. The condense time and information given in these short editing techniques helps to build suspension.

Flashbacks - this convention is particularly useful in this genre as it helps give the audience an insight in the characters past without it having to be directly said. It ca also help to portray the mental state of the character.

Mirrors - and their reflections are used to allow a character to reflect on their 'inner self' and also portray and 'dark side' i which they may posses.

Mis-en-scene

- Majority of scenes set in busy places (citys etc)
- Country side not used as often

In our film opening we will be incorporating most of the conventions used in a psychological thriller, however it is difficult to fully portray the genre with only the opening (of a couple of minutes). This is because most psychological thrillers show a steady deterioration of a characters mental state, such as a development of a haunting memory, therefore showing this journey of the mind within the opening would be impossible. However we will still be able to portray the genre particularly through our use of Flashbacks. We are also defying the genre by using the country side for the vast majority of the film opening (scenic shots), an example of another psychological thriller that defies the genre in this way is 'The Shining'.

Genre Openings

Psychological Thriller Film Openings

Our chosen Genre for our film opening is 'Psychological Thriller', which is a genre that focuses on emphasizing the psychological journey of a character. Allowing the audience to measure the characters mental state as the film develops. It is a Sub Genre of 'Thriller" that tends to overlap with mystery, drama and action, incorporating similar elements of these genres.

Movie Inspirations

Gone Girl 2014

Gone Girl is a film about the surrounding events of  Nick Dunne, who becomes the primary suspect in the sudden disappearance of his wife, Amy. In this film Nick must fight off the accusations that he had killed his wife, and figure out her mystery disappearance. Similar to our film idea, our protagonist also wishes to 'disappear' from her home town and all the memories that is holds and take a journey to an unknown destination (to everyone else).

This film includes an opening close up shot of a woman - we were hoping that our opening shot would be similar to the one of Gone Girl, primarily focusing on the characters eyes and face. In our film opening she will be waking up from a flashback. Also similar to this films opening we wish to use voice overs to develop narrative enigma and allow the audience to start questioning. In our case, we will use voice mails of the characters family and friends, addressed to our protagonists phone.

Inception 2010

Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible with careful planning - inception. 

This film relates to ours because the protagonist has lost his family and as they both are physiological thrillers they both contain the genres of action, drama and mystery whilst staying predominantly in the thriller genre.

We are hoping that our film is similar to this film in the opening shots. This is because the opening shots of this is very scenic of a beach with the waves and the sky. This is the type of camera work we are looking for. Very scenic shots.

Jacobs Ladders 1998

This film is about a character who was wounded in the Vietnam war and consequently returned to his home in New York. Jacob slowly starts to loose grip on reality, as his memories of his son and his traumatic time in the war begin to haunt him more and more. This is the idea that we wish to take from this film as inspiration for our film opening - as it will contain flashbacks. 

Using this film as one of our models, we wish our opening to contain realistic flashbacks, using varied shot lengths (mainly short), and discontinuity editing. We also have to ensure that our flashbacks look realistic and the haunting of our characters mind is portrayed correctly.

Fight Club 1999

A nameless first person narrator (Edward Norton) attends support groups in attempt to subdue his emotional state and relieve his insomniac state. When he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), another fake attendee of support groups, his life seems to become a little more bearable. However when he associates himself with Tyler (Brad Pitt) he is dragged into an underground fight club and soap making scheme. Together the two men spiral out of control and engage in competitive rivalry for love and power. When the narrator is exposed to the hidden agenda of Tyler's fight club, he must accept the awful truth that Tyler may not be who he says he is.

This film is similar to ours because they're both psychological thrillers and have very similar sub-genres, these being thrillers and dramas. As well as this both of the protagonists are all alone with no family etc. As well as this both protagonists are in a rough emotional state.

What our film opening will take from this is to have a very down and very self-absorbed/reserved protagonist. There won't be many other things we will take from this film.

The Machinist 2004

Factory worker Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) suffers from insomnia so severe that his condition has taken its toll on his weight and his mental health. When Trevor unintentionally causes an on-the-job accident that horribly injures a coworker (Michael Ironside), he begins to become even more troubled. Despite a relationship with Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a pretty prostitute, Trevor descends further into paranoia, blaming his problems on an enigmatic figure named Ivan (John Sharian).

This film is similar to ours because they are both psychological thrillers whilst both have a sub-genre of drama. This film is also similar to ours because the protagonist in both is in a rough emotional state and self absorbed. It's protagonist has no family and also doesn't let anyone into his life which is similar to our film idea.

What we are going to take from this film is that the protagonist is very self absorbed and stays to himself. We also will take that the protagonist will have insomnia which will not allow her to sleep.

Silence of the lambs 1991

Silence of the lambs is a psychological thriller made in 1991 about a young FBI cadet who must confide in a manipulative killer to receive his help in catching another serial killer who skins his victims. This film opening uses a lot of close up shots showing the action that is taking place. It is filmed in a dark location in the woods making it harder of the view to see the actor there are sounds of heavy breathing and also other things like birds and animals setting the scene of where it is based. 

We can take ideas from this film opening and use them in ours such as at the start where it says where abouts the place in which this is being filmed is for example in this film opening it says "Woods near Quantico, VA". It also uses establishing shots at to show the view where the scene is set we can also use this in our opening for example when the girl is traveling along the country road to the farm house we can include some scenic establishing shots. 

The Shining 1980

The film, The Shining, is the developing story of 'Jack' becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado. In doing so he hopes to cure his writing block, with peace and quiet - which is difficult whist his son 'Danny' is is haunted by psychic premonitions. As 'Danny's' visions become more and more disturbing, 'Jack' also discovers the hotels mystery that consequently changes him into a homicidal maniac.

As a classic psychological thriller, we see the deterioration of 'Jack's' mental state, which we which to show the beginnings of (with our character), within our film opening. However a more specific inspiration that has come from this film, is the beautiful, scenic way in which this film opening is presented. There are varied establishing, birds eye view shots, of a car travelling through the countryside which we hope to successfully replicate on a smaller scale using a drone. The locations that are used are also similar to what we wish our film opening to look like - country roads surrounded by nature.

 Momento 2000

A memory inside a memory, Memento is a complicated head spinning adventure. Leonard is determined to avenge his wife's murder. However, unable to remember anything that happens day-to-day due to a condition he sustained, short term memory loss, he has to write himself note after note that still don't mean anything after he falls asleep. The film goes back in time to reveal each little bit of the puzzle as he tries to find out the person who killed his wife and makes the audience feel just as confused as he is. The narrative closely follows a phone call Pearce has in which he talks about Sammy Jankis a former client of his who he believed had the same condition. The film takes an unexpected twist as the two characters have a lot more in common than is initially put across.

This film is similar to ours because they are both physiological thrillers with sub genres being drama and thriller. Its also similar because both of the films protagonists have problems with their head. In ours its insomnia and emotional issues. And in Momento its that he has short term memory loss.

What our film is going to take from this is the same genre and sub genres and the protagonist having a mental problem. Also rather than the wife being murdered, the parents were killed.

Vanilla Sky 2001

Vanilla sky is an American psychological thriller romance film made in 2001. Its the story of a young New York City publishing magnate who finds himself on an unexpected roller-coaster ride of romance, comedy, suspicion, love, sex and dreams in a mind-bending search for his soul.its a remake of the 1997 Spanish film open your eyes. I think this film opening is really good as it relates to a lot of things that are going to take place in our film opening such as the actor getting out of bed the voicemail's and the scenic shots. 

There are a lot of things that we can take as ideas from this film opening such as, i think our opening would look better if we filmed on a drone so maybe we may have to look into how to do so. I also like the way is sort of uses flashbacks as they flash up quickly on the screen.

Donnie Darko 2001

A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after he narrowly escapes a bizarre accident. Then opening starts off very dark as the camera pans around and down a road peaceful piano music plays as the actor lays on the floor. This film opening is similar to ours as the opening just has one actor in. 

The thing that i like most about this opening is the way the scene switches so suddenly there is a massive flash of light and it switches from a peaceful scene to a quite upbeat scene this is something we could potentially use in our opening. when we are showing our flashbacks. Tracking shots are also used in this scene when the boy is riding his bike along the road we could also uses this when filming the scene of the girl walking down the country road.

Preproduction of Hightail - 1st Discussion

Flashbacks

Pitch

Pitch to Include:

• Title
• Genre
• Synopsis
• Possible Locations - Photos
• Actors
• Strengths
• Potential Difficulties

Our Group and Roles

My group is made up of 3 people. Harrison Lambert George Stott, and myself Kathryn Sammon

We all enjoy watching thriller filmsand before George joined us we already had in mind a psychological thriller. We have decided to split the group into 3 sections. Directing will be done by me as I enjoy, and believe I am good at leading. Camera work and filming will be done by Harrison because he has the most experience with cameras and George will be doing the editing and post production as he have the most experience with that.

Our company name will include the first letter each of our last name. So for Harrison it will be L, for me it will be S and for George it will also be S. So we decided our company name will be "SLS Films".

Film Opening Idea 3

Idea 3 - Framed

Genre: Crime

Synopsis

After being caught on CCTV at the scene of a murder, which was set up by a mystery murderer to frame the protagonist of the film, Jack (a divorced detective) is forced to figure out who was the person that put the blame on him. With no support from his colleagues, who believe he committed the crime, Jack's skills are tested. The film opening will begin with Jack being told he has 48 to figure out the murder, he will then start his investigation.

Possible Locations

- Outside Police Station

- Car

- Office

 

Strengths

The strengths of this opening is that it is of a very popular genre, which is relatively easily to successfully produce. The locations needed are also very basic, as most of the opening will be the main character traveling in a car, to his home, where in his office he starts his investigation.  

Difficulties

It will however be difficult to find a person who is ideal for the character of 'Jack' as I know limited amount of 30/40 year olds who would be available, and there is no guarantee that they will successfully be able to act as this character.

Film Opening Idea 2

Idea 2 - The Move

Genre: Psychological Thriller 

Synopsis

A teenage girl, who's parents have recently died, must travel away from her home town, leaving her friends and all that is familiar behind, to be with her grandparents in the countryside. The Film opening will visually show the both the journey to the countryside, and the journey of her mind, back to her parents death. Throughout the journey there will be scenic routes that will have relaxing connotations that will contrast with traumatic flashback of her parents death.

Possible Locations

- Train 

- Farm/Farmhouse

- Scenic Country roads

Strengths

The strengths of this idea would be that the idea and the plot is relatively simple, therefore attention can be brought to locations and also to shot types. This film opening will be very aesthetically focused. Another strength is that I already have both an actor in mind, and also a singer to record a relevant backing track.

Difficulties

I think the most difficult part of this film opening, to do successfully, would be realistic flashbacks, explaining her parents death. They would have to be clear to the audience that that is what they are, and help them to understand why this girl is making a journey, and where too.

Film Opening Idea 1

Idea 1 - Outside

Genre: Science-Fiction

Synopsis

A young (12/13 year old) boy, is on the search for discovery of extra-terrestrial life on the outside of Earth. The opening would begin with the boy leaving his last lesson of school for the week, rushing out to meet his 2 friends, to plan their night universe watching. One friend will be just as eager as the main boy, however the other friend is less excited to spend his Friday night, the same as every Friday night, looking pointlessly up at the stars. However this specific night will turn out to be different, after hours of watching through their telescope, with their alien spotting devices, on the top of a large hill, they spot something peculiar right at the very end of the film opening.

Possible Locations

- A small classroom in school (Ilkley Grammar) 

- The school entrance (Ilkley Grammar)

- Bedroom

- Ilkley Moore 

Strengths

I have very easy access to the locations (the moor, school etc.) I would wish to shoot in, this makes this film opening quite achievable. I also think that this film opening would be enjoyable to produce and also be involved in as an actor, as it is an interesting and contains unusual happenings. 

Difficulties

It would however be difficult to find actors to play the role of the boys as they are of an age group that may not want to take part. It would also be difficult to clearly bring across to the audience that the boys are searching for extra-terrestrial life, I would have to find props that could be used.

Prelim Task

This is our preliminary task, where we filmed a section of dialogue between the two characters, playing a teacher and pupil, over a table. The conversation was very brief and consisted of the teacher  asking the pupil their opinion on their exam results. 

Analysis of the task

Overall, I think that the preliminary task was both filmed and edited well. Our biggest success in my opinion is the continuity on the clip; each shot flows from one to the other, making the audience least aware of the pauses we will have had to take between takes as possible. To ensure this was reached we made sure that our shots, that were to later to be edited together, contained movement that would then be continued into the next shot.

We also were set the rule of no auto focus, therefore we focused manually before recording each shot,  varying the iris of the shot where it was needed. We also used a Tripod to film our Prelim, which we used to achieve the height of the shot we felt necessary (low long shot at the start and a eye-level middle shot) and also to maintain a height - especially between switching shoulders of the actors.

There are a few things however that could have been altered to achieve an overall better outcome, one of which was the white balance of the shots. We could have altered the white balance better on the camera settings before recording some of the shots so that each clip matched when put together. There was also a moment near the start of the Prelim, where there is a unwanted camera shake as the camera is moved to follow the actor from the stairs, to the door.

To put together the clips and to complete our preliminary task with a full, edited video I used the application Final Cut Pro, which I found was ideal, and I worked with it well.

Hunger Games Swede

As our swede project we decided to reenact, on a very low budget, and within a week, The Hunger Games. We decided on this film as the vast majority of the film is within 'The Arena' that we thought could successfully be represented by Ilkley Moor, a 15 minute walk from school. It would also be a fun swede to do as it contains lots of action and excentric characters. My role in the swede was the character 'Rue' who dies within The Arena, I also filmed parts of the swede as we rotated the role of camera operator.

Preproduction 

- First we made a list of what we thought, as a group, were the key scenes/moments in the film.

- Then we discussed and assigned roles within the group.

- We also had to make a table which contained the scene, who was needed, the props, and when and       where we would film it

- Finally we made props from cardboard, string, and sticks, and found wigs to use whilst filming.

Editing

To Edit the swede together, I used the application of 'Final Cut Pro'. We imported our preferred takes and edited them together, using transitions where necessary. I adjusted the volume of some of clips and also had to use the 'blade' tool cut out sounds of the camera moving and people talking. We initially had quite a calm hunger games theme tune over the swede, however deciding that it wasn't appropriate for the whole video, we added a more tense theme tune to the middle of the swede. Finally, when we were happy with how it looked, I added a title of 'The Hunger Games Swede' just prior to the last shot. Then finally the credits followed by the mocking jay whistle, the final sound on a black screen to bring together the end of the swede.

Challenges

We found, as a group of 9, it was very difficult to get everyone at the location, at the correct time. It was also hard to keep in contact with anyone who was arriving early/late. Another very obvious challenge was the timing of which we were given to complete filming and editing of the swede - one and a bit weeks. Due to this many of the filming was rushed, and some points we had discussed earlier to include in the swede were missed out.

Technical Analysis

Assessment of current attainment and predicted grade

Overall I feel you have made a very positive start to the course. Your written work is very good and I am impressed by your commitment, enthusiasm and desire to do well. You are currently working at a high Proficient level (A/B); in order to ensure your work falls comfortably within your targeted A grade, you should do the following going forward:

Get your work up to date; Your 5th Film Opening should by now be on your blog; please complete this by the end of this week.

Your analyses need to make better use of semiotics. This means describing denotation and connotation. In other words what is shown and what is implied. You understand these concepts but don’t refer to them correctly. See me if you are unsure.

Now that we are approaching production, I would recommend that you start blogging more regularly on everything that you are doing on the course. This could start with your swede; write a blog (or do a vlog) on your contribution to the production and what your challenges/difficulties were in achieving your swede.

Mr VZ

Feedback 12th October 2016

After listening to my feedback I have ensured that:
- All of my terminology is highlighted in pink
- I have rethought the analysis of 'Coraline' (as it would have been very time consuming)
- I have completed the film analyses, using a variety of multi media.

Previous Year 12 Film Opening Analysis

Analysis of film opening: The Brief 

film opening begins with a blurred in shot for the title scene of cars passing by on a road, these titles inform us who the film opening was produced, directed and edited by. It then switches to a shot of a boy walking into the gym in the bottom right hand corner there are the time and place being typed up in a typewriter font and and a typewriter noise. This could relate to a spy film as it is something that is commonly seen in these sort of movies as the boy walks along the corridor and up the stairs there are a range of different shots used such as a tracking shot. There is also a steady beat of music building up as he walks towards the gym door. 

When he walks through the doors of the gym there is a blurred in low angle shot showing just his body and not his face using a range of different shots gives the film opening a better effect and makes it more interesting. once he is in the gym the beat of the music gets louder and faster. The camera shows a close up of the boy putting his shoes on as it shows the viewer what he is here to do. it then shows an extreme close up of the back of the boys head just before he starts running this shot has a central composition because he runs in a straight line.

While the subjects is running around the gym the camera follows him at this point the camera is hand held making the viewer seem more involved in the film. This film opening uses central composition a lot this draws your eyes towards the subjects and works very well in which the way they have used it. The message shown by the close up of the phone informs the reader what is going on it also uses a shallow depth of field meaning your eyes just focus on the text.

The scene the switches to a tracking shot of the subject walking along a path the typewriter text is used again to give the viewer an idea of where he is. We see a full body shot of the boy and another boy is seen behind him it looks like he is following him because he is looking at him. When he sees the boy he starts running and music picks up, the music is tense and really fast. The camera is hand held this resembles to them running and makes you feel like you are part of the action.

The camera shows a point of view shot showing the boys point of view when he is running the also makes the viewer feel like they are in the action. It also shows flashbacks of when he was in the gym and how the things in the gym helped him in real life for example when he jumps over the wall it shows him doing pull-ups in the gym.

When the boy who is chasing the other boy get passed his bag it shows you a close up shot of his face as if you are inside the bag looking at him when the boy gets away we see an over the shoulder shot of him walking slowly across a bridge. If i was to grade this work i would give it an A as a wide range of shots have been used and loads of different filming techniques have been used the opening is also easy to understand and invites the viewer in making then want to watch on.

The Revenant Film Opening Analysis

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Film Opening Analysis

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Director: Tim Burton
Year: 2005
Production Co: Warner Bros. Village    Roadshow Pictures    Plan B Entertainment
Distributor: Warner Bros    FilmFlex
Budget: $150 million
Box Office: $475 million

This imaginative and comedic 2005 film is based on the popular Roald Dahl tale of a young boy named Charlie Bucket. His fortunes change when he wins a ticket for a tour around the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, and during, meets the most unusual chocolate maker. I will now analyse the films opening and the impression it gives onto the rest of the film.

Film Productions

Warner Bros. Ident : 6 seconds

Village Roadshow Pictures : 6 seconds

Unlike many films, where the company idents are put in before the opening of the film starts, these idents are integrated within the start of the film, followed by the titles (which I will analyse later). I chose to mention this and I think that putting the idents, fading in and out between the snow and sky at the beginning of the opening, brings the audience immediately into the mysterious setting in which the director wishes to portray.

Opening shots

The first shot that the viewers see contain, what we guess is, the chimneys of the chocolate factory. It is a long shot that travels through the snow and the clouds, until it discovers the chimneys; this is effective as it continues with the same environment and establishing shot that the company idents appear in. The tall chimneys, that climb into the air from what we assume is a large, industrialised factory contrast marginally with the birds eye shot that we see right at the end of the film opening which shows that this extravagant factory is surrounded by small terrace houses, showing connotations of the poverty that surrounds the factory.

The camera then, in the same continuous shot, zooms closer into the central chimney before climbing to the top where it enters. This shot is effective as it makes the reader feel like they are part of the journey, and they are about to enter the factory and witness what the characters will witness later in the film.

Titles

This film, like many others, uses its opening title sequence to reel the audience in at the beginning of the film. This style of titles is called 'hook'. As well as the words being in a simple, clear font - supporting the target audience of younger people watching the film, the titles compliment the film very well. The colour choice of the text, is golden, giving representations of the golden ticket and the exciting, rare opportunity that will be given in the film to witness the inside of the factory, just as the viewers are witnessing first.

The titles in the opening follow the journey of the chocolate being made in the factory, being packaged up and finally but in vans to be distributed to shops. This is an effective way of incorporating the titles, as instead of titles on a blank, uninteresting screen, failing to grab the viewers attention, the viewers experience an insight into the factory, the making of the chocolate, and the golden tickets, before anyone else. They even have a glimpse of a mysterious, unknown hand, that we guess is the usual character 'Willy Wonka'. This is a use of narrative enigma to reel the audience in and start to tell a story.

Submarine Film Opening Analysis

Submarine

Richard Ayoade

Year: 2010

Production Co: Warp Films

Distributror: Optimum

Budget: $1.5m

Box Office: $3.8m

This film is a Coming-of-age comedy-drama, based and adapted from the book 'Submarine' by Joe Dunthorne. It was written and directed by Richard Ayoade, which was his directional debut. Its main character 'Oliver Tate' is played by Craig Roberts. The films budget was $1.5 million. I will be analysing the 1 minute 52 second Film opening, under 4 main technical areas; Cinematography, Editing, Sound and Mise-en-scence. I will also start by looking at the film companies involved in this film's production and their idents which appear at the beginning of the opening.

Film Productions

Film 4 - 9 seconds

UK Film Council - 8 seconds

Cinematography

Opening Shots

             

The first shot that we see, as an audience, is a pan of a bedroom, to which we suspect belongs to the main character, a young boy named Oliver. This is a very effective way of opening the movie because, as an audience, we are immediately making our first impressions of the character from the mise-en-scène of the bedroom, with many props being representations of characteristics. In these few screenshots from the pan, a specific few objects stand out to me. 

The first is the skeleton that can be seen in the 2nd screenshot, which gives the assumption that this character is interested in subjects that would usually not be the norm for a young boy, which leads me to the object next to it, a telescope. Giving a clever representation of the boy being an outsider, looking in whilst he seems to like to spend much of his time in his room with his many possessions.

As the pan comes to an end, we spot in the bottom right corner, a character sat on the floor. The high angle shot, looking down onto the character, shows that the boy is not wanting to be seen, 
and enjoys his own company without being disturbed. There are then two short shots that, in each, come closer to the boys face, which seem to 'disturb' him as his head turns and he looks into the camera giving direct mode of address. Braking the separation  between actor and character, continuing with the idea of a different and quirky character.

 

After this shot, a sense of mystery is given, as the boy and the bedroom shots finish and establishing shots of the Welsh landscape and coastline replace them...

Titles

There are 5 different titles that appear in the same font and colours, with varied gaps, filled with the shots of the bedroom. They have a blue background, with white letters, noting the different companies involved with the film. The titles seem to match the impression of the character that we get from the bedroom shots; the font is bold and the words are disjointed, just as 'Oliver' seems to be from everyone else. Because both the bedroom and the tittles bring across the same thing, they work well intertwining with one another. The blue colour also supports this representation with it having cold connotations.

The uniformity of the titles then changes on the last title shot where the name of the film is shown. Although the disjointed, quirky font is continued onto this title with the 3 way separation of the work 'Submarine' the royal blue background that was on the previous 5 title shots, has been replaced with one of the establishing shots, shown for the past 20 seconds of the opening. 

Sounds

At the beginning of this film opening, 36 seconds in, we hear sound effects of the sea and the birds quietly coming through. This sound had connotations with relaxation, blocking out any distractions from other people; it is plainly just nature. This adds weight to the idea of the boys characteristics being independent and enjoying his own company. At 52 seconds, when we catch a glimpse of the boy for the first time the audience experiences narrative enigma from dialect which we assume is the voice of the protagonist, the boy that we can see. At 1.06 minutes, the establishing shots start, and with them play a song that has a melencoly feel, that matches the colours and the scenes that continue to the end of the opening.