Planning of Opening Sequence

Before beginning any filming of our opening sequence OUCH Productions as a group had to plan out what is going to happen by using a storyboard and/or a spider diagram. Also before we could do anything we had to discuss the locations available to us which would suit our genre and decide on which of the locations we were going to use and why.

Location

The type of location we were looking for was one with a table in the middle of the room of which atleast 3 people could sit around playing poker and cards etc. The location also had to have a door of which went straight outdoors where a silhouette could possibly be seen.

After talking about and discussing the various points we came down to the conclusion that we were going to have to use someones house. Once thinking of all the possibilities within each others houses we resulted in deciding to use the dining room area of my house. A factor that helped us come to this conclusion was also the fact that 2 of our group, myself and Gregg live in Eye, where our opening sequence is going to be filmed and is not too difficult for the other 2 members Alex Baines and Henry Dunn to get to.

The pictures below are of our chosen location in its original state before we re-arranged it ready for filming.



















The 4 pictures above show the space and table available in my dining area to film our opening sequence. With there being a lack of space at the moment, the middle panel of the table will be removed taking it down to a 4 person table, perfect for what we need. Also in the pictures you can see the colour on the walls but this will all become irrelevant as we are filming in black and white.

The archway which can be seen in one of the pictures into the kitchen will be covered over when it comes to our filming as the kitchen area is inappropiate and not needed during the filming of our opening sequence. All of the pictures and stuff seen in the images above will be removed and appropiate props will be added to fit the genre of our film.

The picture below is of our chosen location, my dining room, ready and prepared for the filming of our opening sequence.



Setting

The look of the setting and also the things present within our setting will all have to be appropiate to the genre and time period to ensure this is all portrayed across to the viewers. The things present within our setting:

• Wooden Cabinet
• Door straight to the outdoors (only door)
• Low Light
• Table, Poker Table on top of it
• Converted Dining Room
• Smokey Room
• Poker Room
• 1950's Italiano/American

Props

In our opening sequence the use of our props will be very important and help establish the genre and time period. We therefore need to make sure that the props we use will be appropiate to our genre and time period. Props we will use within our opening sequence:

• Cigars
• Money
• Poker Table
• Spirit Bottles and Glasses
• keys
• Poker Chips
• Briefcase
• Cards
• Olives and Nuts
• Knife
• Holy/Italian Pictures
  
• Ashtrays

Below are a few pictures of the props that are going to be present within our opening sequence. All of the props below that we are going to use are neccessary to our genre, setting and time period.

Costume

The costume that will be used within our opening sequence will also have to be appropiate to the genre, time period and storyline. The actors in our piece will have to look ready for some gambling business. Costume going to be used within our opening sequence:

• Shirts
• Ties
• Suit Jackets
• Cocktail Sticks
• Jewellery
• Watches
• Cigars/Cigarettes

Below are the pictures of the 5 people present in our opening sequence in their costume before filming.
In the picures above you can see the use of costume within our opening sequence. All of the actors present are wearing some form of shirt and/or suit jacket. This is exactly the look we aimed for to portray our 1950's gangster genre film opening and we believe from the pictures above we achieved this very well.

In the picture below is the spider diagram of the rough plan of our props, costume and setting. We had to carefully take this all into consideration before beginning filming so that we knew exactly what we were going to use and why.


Deciding on the Film Name

Within our planning we decided to come up with the name of our film for our opening sequence. Due to the film being an Italiano/American gangster film we wanted to make our film title Italian to be unusual compared to any other films present in the filming world and also any other films within our media group. After another group discussion we decided on the film title 'Ace of Hearts' of which in Italian translates to 'Lasso di Cuori'. We decided on this film name as in our opening sequence we are going to have the younger American man in the possession of the 'Ace of hearts' when he wins the poker game; and coinsidentally the Italian gang are going to be called L'asso di Cuori.Storyboard and Synopsis

Storyboard..
Before any filming takes place, as a group we must create a storyboard to make the filming of our opening sequence so much easier for OUCH Productions. Also the storyboard will enable us to film the opening sequence in the shortest time possible and without hesitation we will know exactly what camera shots/angles are needed. This will also shut out any uneccessary arguments or debates as we would have already planned everything before the filming procedure. The picture below is of our storyboard we drew up before the filming:


Box 1 of the storyboard shows the opening shot we want within our opening sequence. It is of Graham, part of L'asso di Cuori, smoking on a cigarette as the camera pans up towards a holy/Italian picture on the wall. It also says 'in association with film 4' across the top.

Box 2 shows 2 of the mobsters from L'asso di Cuori playing poker smoking on cigarettes and cigars.

Box 3 shows the entrance of the young American hotshot opening up his briefcase on the poker table.

Box 4 shows the luck of Alex's hand of cards, the 2 aces including the ace of hearts. During this shot we will also try to add in a voice about his luck.

Box 5 shows the leader of the mob group L'asso di Cuori as the young American is pouring a glass of drink, this will give us time and space to add in who is playing the Italian leader; Steven Cooper.

Box 6 shows the eldest in L'asso di Cuori, Art Cooper, using his initiative and experience of the poker game by folding and throwing his cards in.

Box 7 shows the appearance of the assasin, Henry Dunn, who has turned up to recieve the debt owed by the young American hotshot.

Box 8 is a bird's eye view of the poker table at the end of the game with all of the chips, money, keys and jewellery etc. present along with smoke being blown across the screen. At this stage the film title will appear on the screen.

Synopsis..
From our Storyboard, Spider Diagram and brief discussions we can piece together the running and storyline/synopsis of our opening sequence.

Our opening sequence will consist of 3 older Italian men playing poker with a younger American for money and high value goods such as watches, jewellery and keys. The filming area will be made smokey by 2 of them smoking on cigars and cigarettes; we will also try to make the smoke be seen on the camera as we believe this will add great effect.

The beginning of our opening sequence will begin with one of the men smoking on a cigarette with a holy/Italian picture seen on the wall behind. This will then cut/fade into the 3 older men shuffling the cards ready for a game of poker when a younger man enters with a briefcase of which he opens and pulls out cash notes and cocktail sticks. The 4 men then carry out an intense game of poker of where OUCH Productions as a group can use a range of camera angles and techniques to show this to the audience. At the end of the opening sequence the younger man will be seen to have won and begin to collect his winnings but the largest of the 3 men will prevent him from doing so and another male figure will be seen at the door holding a knife; this is when the film, 'L'asso di Cuori' will begin!

We will try to make sure that when the male figure in the door is seen that the audience will see this from the younger mans perspective. We think this is one shot that can add extra effect to our opening sequence. Also we are going to have the whole of our opening sequence filmed in black and white to portray the time era of the 1950's and partially portray the genre as a few older gangster films are filmed in black and white. Within our opening sequence we will include no dialogue but include some voice over from the younger mans perspective and also a soundtrack that will fit our genre and time period.

Risk Assessment

Dangerous props and/or setting need to be taken into consideration carefully and discussed to ensure no injuries or accidents will occur during the filming of our film opening sequence.

The Knife..
The knife used at the very end of the opening sequence by Henry Dunn needed to be used very carefully. This prop could potentially injure either himself or someone else within our media group and actors. Therefore to avoid this we must ensure that the knife is not used or taken from the draw until the time it is needed for filming.

Glasses, Bottles..
Broken glass bottles and glasses can cut people and so therefore within our opening sequence we will make sure that the bottles and glasses present will not be thrown or placed on the edge of any surfaces making sure that they will not break.

Cigars and Cigarettes..
The use of cigars and cigarettes in our opening sequence can potentially burn people or possibly cause a fire. Therefore in our opening sequence we will have to ensure safely that they are only lit and used when needed and that the ashtrays are used to try and keep this risk down to a minimum.

After taking all of the above into consideration we deemed it safe to go ahead with the filming of our opening sequence.