Filming and Editing of OUCH Productions Film Opening Sequence

The filming of our opening took place on one friday night and took no longer than about 2 and a half hours and therefore continuity was not a problem for us. In this time we managed to capture enough video footage from various camera angles etc. to piece together the opening of L'asso di Cuori. An advantage for OUCH Productions being able to film in just the one evening was that we didn't have to go to any further trouble in getting everyone together again, including the actors present to film more video footage.

Throughout the filming stage of our opening sequence everyone within OUCH Productions had an input on our various camera angles and what we wanted the actors to be doing and when. We all decided together that we needed camera angles such as over the shoulder, bird's eye view, panning, zooming in and out, close - ups, high angle shots, low angle shots and point of view camera shots. The use of the soundtrack within our opening sequence means that while filming we could direct the actors vocally as our voices will be cut out during the editing stage anyway.

The editing to our opening sequence was the toughest procedure in this production due to the amount of time and effort put into doing it. As a group we spent approximately 3 weeks worth of media lessons editing our video footage, sound and music on Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9.0. Using this editing software we were able to turn our video footage into black and white. Originally on top of our black and white effect we wanted the red on the 'Ace of Hearts' to be shown, but due to the software not being good enough to do so we had to do without this great effect.

To begin with our opening sequence was about 20 seconds too long and one camera shot; of the poker game; was held for far too long therefore we had to use the editing software to cut this down to make our piece only 2 minutes long.

As a group we must have gone through about 50 soundtracks until on the deadline day we hit the jackpot! The Scarface theme tune was exactly the same length of time as our opening sequence and went extremely well with our video due to it coming from a film of a similar genre. As it was the same length of time we did not have to shorten or lengthen our soundtrack but only add in voice overs and make the volume louder and quieter when appropiate. Everything we did throughout the editing stage was a group decision; for example the accent of our voice overs and who was going to do them. To begin with we were going to keep the voice overs being English but due to the American/Italian Gangster genre of the film we decided that Alex's role within our opening sequence was of a young American man and therefore the voice overs were going to be in an American accent. The use of the American accent will instantly establish his characterisation withink the opening sequence. Then to find who was going to do our voice overs; we recorded 4 people (Alex Baines, Henry Dunn, Kieren Rodgers and Joe Baines) doing the voice overs in an American accent and then once again sat down as a group to discuss which of the 4 we believed were the best. OUCH Productions chose Alex Baines' voice overs to be the better ones and we therefore decided to use these within our piece.

Posted below is OUCH Producions edited and rendered opening sequence of L'asso di Cuori.

After completing our opening sequence we felt it necessary to recieve any feedback from friends and family, and to do so we posted our video onto the social networking site Facebook aswell as the student resources at school for our fellow school pupils to view.

After recieving feedback messages on facebook such as 'that's sweeeet!' and 'love it, the soundtracks awesomeeeeeee!' we felt it very necessary to say that our opening sequence production was very successful! :)

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.

Genre

Before planning our final piece, the opening sequence of a film, and after watching and reviewing some opening sequences we as a group had to chose which of the many Genres we were going to use for our opening sequence. Listed and briefly explained below are some of the possible genres available to us to use. The majority of the information I have collected about the following genres below was taken from the website: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and we found this really helpful.

Thriller..
Thrillers are normally fast-pacing containing frequent action and including resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and equipped villians. Thriller films are normally filmed in exotic settings such as foreign cities, desserts or high seas. There are many great thriller films around including 'The Bourne Identity' and 'Seven'.

Western..
Westerns are devoted to telling stories primarily set in the later half of the 19th century. They often portray how primitive and obsolete ways of life confronted modern technological or social changes. This can be shown through conflict between natives and settlers of the U.S. cavalry or between sheep and cattle farmers. American Westerns of the 1940s and 1950s emphasize the values of honor and sacrifice. Westerns from the 1960s and 1970s often had more pessimistic views, glorifying a rebellious anti-hero and highlighting the cynicism, brutality and inequality of the American West.


Comedy..
Comedy is any humourous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film and stand-up comedy. Much comedy contains variations on the elements of surprise, incongruity, conflict, repetitiveness, and the effect of opposite expectations, but there are many recognized genres of comedy.

Horror..
Horror movies normally strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently contain death and many also include a central villian. Horror movies are generally bloody and gory. Horror began as a genre with black and white films based on early gothic/horror books such as 'Frankenstein' and 'Dracula'. Horror genre films is now one of the fastest growing genres in the film making world.


Action..
Action films are jaw dropping type of films that tend to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats. Action films are still today known for some of the best films in the world including 'James Bond' and 'Mission Impossible'. In almost every action film there is a muscular powerful male who has a job as a secret agent or undercover guy who normally saves the day in dramatic action fashion. Action films normally contain a beautiful women who gets saved by the hero and falls in love.

Romance..
Romance is a very popular genre and is based around only one thing...Love! The success of the genre romance has come through its use of highly emotional and touching storylines. Many examples of great romantic films are 'The Titanic' and 'Romeo and Juliet'.




Gangster..
Gangster movies contain criminals who are normally members of a crime organisation (gang). The terms gangster, criminals and criminal organisation are normally used in reference and association with the Italian Mafia and individuals such as Al Capone. There are many popular ganster movies including 'The Godfather Series' and 'GoodFellas'.

Fantasy..
Fantasy films use magic and other supernatural forms as their plot, theme and setting. Fantasy was and is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror. Fantasy is dominated by mass medievalist form since the great success of the novel 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R Tolkien.


After reviewing and talking about the possible genres available to us, we as a group went in the direction of an Italiano/American gangster style opening sequence. We said that everything we film will be in black and white for effect and that to portray the gangster genre we will film it in a poker area and add appropiate effects and soundtrack to get this across to our viewers. The time period of our opening sequence will also be the 1950's.

We have decided to choose this genre because of the technical abilities we can use within it. For example; the black and white effect, smoke across the screen, a soundtrack, voice overs from a persons perspective and silhouettes. We also chose this genre because we wanted to make an alteration to our preliminary video and our preliminary video was a humourous piece, whereas this one is going to be rather more serious.

Opening Sequences

Before beginning anything to do with our final piece, the Film Opening Sequence, we took the opportunity as a group/class to look at and review some opening sequences establishing all the strengths and everything that was found within the opening sequences. Stuff like Music/Soundtracks, Establishing Shots and quick and clear identification of the Genre were found in all opening sequences. These things need to be taken into consideration and added appropiately to our opening sequence. The music and soundtracks are used for effect and to also identify genre, but they will also become useful within our opening sequence as it will block out any unecessary background noise picked up by the video camera.

We looked at opening sequences from films such as Dirty Harry, Seven and The Usual Suspects.

Mise-en-Scene..

Mise-en-scene is used in all 3 of these movies. Mise-en-Scene refers to everything that appears before the camera including props, sets, actors, costumes and lighting. If the piece of filming is paused, the viewers must be able to establish the genre and exactly what is happening in the picture, this is the identification of mise-en-scene. Within our opening sequence we will try to ensure that mise-en-scene can be established by the props, costume and lighting we use in our video.

Ideology..

Ideology is the use of either a moral, political or social message portrayed to the viewers through the opening sequence. This is seen quite clearly in Dirty Harry when the murder of the women happens and they try to prevent it from happening in the future.

Sound..

In all 3 of the opening sequences to the films above there is the use of both non-diegetic and diegetic sound. Diegetic sounds are the sounds heard from the camera; natural sounds, whereas non-diegetic sounds are those which have been added to the video like sirens or church bells. All sounds used within opening sequences help portray the emotions and feelings within the film, this is shown in Dirty Harry through the sound that was used at the very beginning wen the list of deceased officers is scrolling down the screen.

Characterisation..

Characterisation is when the director dresses and portrays his actors to the audience in the correct way making sure they see the correct look of the actors. This can be put across to viewers via the use of props, costume and dialogue. This will be significant within our opening sequence to enable the viewers to establish as much as possible within our opening sequence.

Music..

Directors use soundtracks and music when dialogue is not being said to build suspense and make the audience want to know what is going to happen next. The music is normally a little eerie and quiet and fits the genre of the film.

Narrative..

Narrative is normally used in opening sequences from the heros perspective but within our opening sequence we will be looking to use no narrative and just a soundtrack and action.

New York Trip

New York..

For our AS Media Studies myself and a number of other pupils visited New York from 3rd February - 7th February. The main reason for the trip was the 4 hour Film Masterclass at the New York Film Academy. The 4 hour film masterclass included 3 stages; Film-making, Acting and Editing! And a great advantage to OUCH Productions was that all 4 members went to New York therefore participating in the Film Masterclass and ensuring that we did not have to inform a group member of what went on when we returned back to school; this made it so much easier for us. :)

The Editing was just a re-cap in more detail of what we had already learnt back at our school, but was very helpful. The extra little imformation passed on to us enabled us to add captions etc. to our videos without much of a struggle. This all became very useful when editing our preliminary video and planning our opening sequence.

The Film-Making whereas was the most helpful part due to the standard of equipment we used and the amount of it. Although the equipment standard was better than of that available to us back at school, we found it very helpful as we became use to using their equipment therefore making our equipment easier to use. Our standard of equipment might not be as good, but the techniques used in the film masterclass can easily be used in the making of our opening sequence using the equipment we have.

The Acting part of the masterclass was not as useful to us as the Editing and Film-making but the information passed on to us will be taken in and become useful when it comes to the acting part of both our preliminary and final task pieces. Due to all 2 of our group wanting to and willing to appear in our final piece, the opening sequence of a film, we deemed it necessary to listen carefully to everything being passed across about acting and remember it until we begin acting.

Preliminary Filming Task

After completing our January Media Exam; as a group we have been given the preliminary filming task of videoing someone walking into a room and exchanging dialogue with one or more people. In this preliminary piece we must contain a use of dialogue, match on action, 180 degree rule and a range of camera angles.

First off we had to decide on which of our class mates we would like to work with. After being advised to work with someone trustworthy and able to work hard in a group, I decided to work with Henry Dunn, Alex Baines and Gregg Sullivan, and believe this was a good decision. We are OUCH Productions! ;)

As a group we came up with the idea of Alex Baines (playing Douglas McKeowen) assaulting someone and being caught on CCTV. This clip is then followed by Alex walking down the corridor and into the police stations interview room. At this stage the 2 investigating police officers question Alex on the incident. Alex denies everything said saying 'you cannae prove this' and walks out.

The 180 degree rule..


The 180 degree rule is simply a basic guideline in film making that 2 characters in the same scene must always have the same left/right relationship to one another. If the camera crosses the imaginary axis connecting the 2 subjects the 180 degree rule is destroyed.

An an example of the 180 degree rule being used in our preliminary filming task is when Alex (Douglas McKeowen) is being interviewed. The camera in this scene never crosses the centre line from one side of the room, making it the 180 degree rule.

Match on action..
A match on action is when some action occuring before the cut is picked up where the cut left it by the shot immediately following it. For example in our piece when Alex is shouting at the police officers from ther door, the camera cuts from inside the room to outside in the corridor. We made sure this cut carried on his dialogue in flow and that he was in exactly the same position as before.











Range of Camera angles..

Close up: this camera shot diplays the most detail and is normally used to show a persons facial expressions or maybe some intricate activity within their hands. An example of the close - up camera shot in our piece would be when Alex (Douglas McKeowen) says; " I frickin hate pigs!" This shot shows Alex's anger and impatience whilst being interviewed by the two police officers.



Over the shoulder shot: This camera shot contains the back of one persons shoulder and the front of another persons face. In otherwords it is literally someone, in this case the camera, looking over someones shoulder at someone else or something else. This is normally used effectively when two people are holding a discussion or conversation. An example of this in our piece would once again be when Alex is being interviewed by the police officers and Henry is framing him for robbery, intention to kill and GBH.


High angle shots: This camera angle is high up looking down on the action, we used this quite regularly in our preliminary piece due to the use of the security cameras. the security cameras were always high up in the corner of the acting area looking downwards. Examples of this in our piece would be when the assault takes place in the dark at the beginning and also when Douglas McKeowen enters and leaves the interview room.











Panning: This is the horizontal movement of the video camera. Panning the camera results in a motion similar to that of someone shaking their head. The picture to the left briefly and simply shows the movement of the camera during the panning motion. In our preliminary piece we did not use panning, but we will be looking to use it in our film opening sequence due to its effectiveness and the skills involved.


Low-angle shots: This is a shot of when the camera is placed low and vertically near the floor looking slightly upwards. This can be used in filming when not wanting to see someones face when they are walking, so you just concentrate on the bottom half of their body. This camera shot is used in our Preliminary filming task when Alex is walking down the corridor towards the interview room.

Tracking: This is when the camera is mounted on something like a wheeled platform while being pushed on rails while the picture is being taken. The tracking shot includes a number of movements such as side to side, forward and back or even a curve. The shot is sometimes used to follow a person or object. We did not use this camera shot in our preliminary piece but once again will be looking at how we can use it in our final piece.

Continuity..

Continuity is ensuring that everything such as costume, props and location are exactly the same everytime you go to film a clip for the video. Continuity was vital throughout our preliminary piece due to the course of the filming taking place on more than one day. This meant that the people involved in the video clip had to wear the same clothes on both days of filming. Also all of the props used and seen in the first day of filming with have to be present on the second day of filming.

Storyboard for our Preliminary Video..

The image of our storyboard above clearly shows that during the making of our storyboard we concentrated on the types of camera angles we were going to use in our preliminary video, and also the dialogue that would be used by the actors.

Box 1 of the storyboard consists of the incident happening with the camera held up high looking down on the action like a security camera. The image in box 1 also shows that we had decided to edit the picture by adding the text 'security camera 01 18:00' to the bottom of the screen.

Box 2 whereas shows and tells us of the match on action going to be used when Alex is walking down the corridor. Box 3 once again shows the camera being held high up in the corner like a security camera and also again containing the editing text of 'security camera 02 09:48'.
Box 4 and 5 of the storyboard indicates the use of the over the shoulder camera shot. Box 4 is from one side of the table and box 5 from the otherside of the table. This is shown being used during the interview between the police officers and Douglas McKeowen.

Box 6 is a close up of Alex when he says 'cos i frickin hate pigs!'. This camera angle on the storyboard is going to be used to show the facial expressions of Alex's face during his interview with the police officers.

Box 7 is showing the first stage of the 2nd use of match on acion in our preliminary. In box 7 you can see Alex exiting the interview room of where he says 'you'll be hearing from my lawyer, I don't have one yet, but i will do!'. During the dialogue the camera changes to outside of the door, using match on action for the 2nd time.
Box 8 is the final box of the storyboard and shows the final part of our preliminary video when Alex has exited the interview room and signals foul hand gestures towards the 'security camera'. This is then followed by the 'Ouch Productions' written across the bottom of the screen.
Our final Preliminary Video..

OUCH Productions preliminary video can be found on youtube using the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWo31DnuUQ8 OR you can watch the video posted below, ENJOY :)

Evaluation of Preliminary Video..
I think our Preliminary Video was quite successful including a number of different camera angles. In our prelimnary video Henry is caught on camera laughing, we will have to make sure that in our opening sequence video we do not include anything like this as it will drop our mark and the overall effect of the video. In my opinion the best part of our preliminary video is the match on action used when Alex is exiting the interview room. This cut is edited perfectly. The dialogue is still heard fluently and in time and Alex's body position is exactly the same as before the camera cut.

Also the use of the close up on Alex's face and the repetition of his speech; 'cos I frickin hate pigs!' is really effective as the viewers can see Alex's facial expressions and establish instantly that he is very annoyed, and the repetition of his dialogue adds humour to his part of the video. Talking of humour, everything in our preliminary video said by Alex is humourous and heard in a Scottish accent, we decided to use this to see whether it would come across as a good thing to the viewers and after hearing many of them say it was great and funny, it became a success. The scottish accent also establish his characterisation instantly.

In our video I also think we came across and handled the 180 degree rule very successfully as when it was used in our video it was used correctly.

Overall I believe our preliminary video was very successful and only shows marginal successful videoing that OUCH Productions is capable of. The video used numerous camera angles and techniques and entertained the viewers with its humour, so hopefully our final video can be better and even more successful.