We asked our primary target audience (upper middle class teens and young adults) a few questions to get an overall idea of what we need to put in our opening sequence in order to fulfill the audience's needs and meet their expectations.
We asked them 14 questions:
1. What's your Favorite Film Genre? 2. Do you enjoy and often watch drama films? 3. Any Sub-genres that you know of? 4. How likely, on a scale from 1 to 5, are you to see the following sub-genres of drama film?
> Crime Drama
> Historical Drama
> Horror Drama
> Comedy Drama
> Psychodrama
> Romantic Drama
5. Can you name any drama films?
6. Have you heard of the following:
> Boyhood
> Gravity
> 12 Years a Slave
> Perks of Being a Wallflower
> The King's Speech
> Goodfellas
> Final Destination
> Silver Linings Playbook
7. What is most important to you in a drama film?
8. What themes do you enjoy in drama? 9. What storylines are interesting to you in drama?
10. Can you name any typical character type that you would expect in a drama film? 11. What characters do you enjoy watching the most?
12. What conventions do you enjoy watching the most? 13. What locations do you think would be most appropriate for a drama film?
14. Overall, what do you think makes a good drama film?
The Results We Got:
In Question 1,the most popular answers we got were Horror and Action. However, there were some selecting Comedy, Thriller, Crime and even Romance. Through Question 2, we found that 3 out of the 5 participants don't particularly enjoy watching drama films, which is good for our range of audience, since we were able to get the feedback that can potentially help us attract audience that doesn't necessarily keep up with drama movies. Question 3 was a leading question onto Question 4, since we were able to introduce the participants to Crime Drama, Historical Drama, Horror Drama, Comedy Drama, Psychodrama and Romantic Drama. We got them to rate them in terms of how likely they are to see them, 1 being the least and 5 being the most. For Crime Drama, the interest was between 2 and 4, which falls in the middle of the scale. For Historical Drama, the interest was low - 1 and 2 being the only answers we got (which was expected for the audience we aim at and interviewed). The interest in Horror Drama, however was on two ends, having half of the participants saying there is no way they would watch it and the other half giving it ranking of 4 and 5. The ranking for Comedy Drama was varied around the whole scale, so the only conclusion we got was that it is a very hard genre to investigate and define. Most of the participants have low interest in Romantic Drama, except for one, who gave it a rate of 4. In Question 5, where we asked for examples of drama movies, we got 3 answers - 12 years a Slave, Pride and Prejudice and Lucy. This means that drama movies are only remembered if they have an exceptional storyline and grab the audience - giving us the overall impression of the genre as competitive. From Question 6, we found out that the most popular drama movies are Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and Goodfellas. The slightly less popular films were Perks of Being a Wallflower, The King's Speech and Final Destination. The only movies half of our participants have heard of were Boyhood and Silver Linings Playbook. Question 7 told us that the only things that make a good drama movie are storyline (mentioned by everyone), theme and characters. Most popular themes, as we find out in Question 8, are Loss (mentioned by everyone), Coming of Age and Bullying. When asking about storylines in Question 9, we got Family Struggles (being a popular answer) and Bullying. The most popular characters from Question 10 the hero, the villain (them being a killer, a double faced friend or a bully for example), the character who our protagonist confines with (a friend, family member, love interest, etc.) and damsel in distress, which is usually the main character at some point. From Question 11 we found out that sometimes the audience needs a relating point with the character in order to build an emotional bond and keep their interest, while others like to watch characters completely different to. In terms of conventions (asked in Question 12), people seem to enjoy Conflict and Struggle the most, followed by Character Development and Real Life Stories. In Question 13, we asked about locations expected from drama movies. The Answers we got were Big Cities, High Schools, Hospitals and Countrysides. We finished our interviews with Question 14, where we asked what makes a good drama film, where we got answers such as Story, Characters, Good Romance, True Story, Action and a good plot twist.
For this task, I looked at two opening sequences - Step Up (First Image) and The Dark Knight (Second Image). They are both openings for drama movies, which means they would have similar conventions and a certain theme. The first thing that I noticed was that they had quite simple fonts, relying on the content showing to make the scenes and the names memorable. Both sequences were action packed and had a build up of their own to show how intense and thrilling the movie would be. In the Step Up one, we see a lot of dancing and deep contrast between the two social groups, hinting on how the conflict in this movie would be binary opposition - driven. Even though The Dark Knight opening relies on visuals created by CGI, it succeeds to build up tension through the music and the type of animation we are introduced to, which is made to mainly compliment the titles. What surprised me during my research is that different titles had certain pauses between displaying the next name - depending on the importance of the role they are crediting. Names were mentioned in certain order and smaller actors and crew members were mentioned in groups. The difference between the two opening sequences is that In the Step Up one, we had the name of the movie in the beginning, to give a good introduction to the scene and start it off, while in The Dark Knight, where the action and tension was a main theme, the title of the film was mentioned as the thing the audience has been brought on their toes for. Soundtrack was another important key in the opening sequences, as it sets a tone to the scene and for the whole movie. The music in Step Up stays the same throughout the whole opening, telling us that the film would be quite simple and one track minded. The Dark Knight, however, has a lot of music changes, different moods and tones, setting the audience up for an intense,complex and layered storyline.
The Narrative of this opening sequence is linear, as it introduces all of the characters in their environment one by one. This allows us to compare them and pay close attention to each one of them as an individual, before they are put together under one label.
➸Camera Work
- First Scene (J. Daniel Atlas):
Close Ups:
Close Ups are used in this scene to direct the audience's attention towards specific details. Lets us have a closer look and gets us involved in the performance. Works in his advantage as his job is to direct our attention towards something as a distraction while the real action happens behind the camera. They are also used to show the reaction of the girl he's performing the trick on,in order to demonstrate the effect he has on people.
Medium Shots:
The Voyeuristic medium shots here are necessary as they release the tension built up previously by the intense close ups combined with the music and the visuals. The audience relates as this frame is more natural and simplistic - a real life point of view. It also shows us the relationship between the performer and his audience - he is surrounded by them, but the space between then also helps him blend in and doesn't allow him to stand out as some kind of idol - he is an ordinary person as far as we are concerned (nothing about him is too special)
Cut Away Shot:
Cut Away to the cards shows us the subject of focus, main aspect to the scene and it uses stereotypes of magicians to deliver a message. As street performance are known for doing basic tricks everyone has seen, it sets us with the expectation of a small and harmless trick. However, as we see in the next shot, he turns something simple and easy into a bigger trick which leaves us amazed of his skills and tells us about his style of performing - starting off with something simple to work his way up.
Low and High Angle:
When the trick is revealed, we see the building from a low angle, making it more impressive and unachievable. An ariel is used to transition the shot of the magician and the crowd up to the building, making us compare what we see and be completely amazed by the result of this not so simple and ordinary trick. Later on, after a couple of ariel shots, we are back to looking at the amazed crowd, with the J. Daniel Atlas in the middle, however from a high angle. This gets the audience to see them as small and harmless, nothing in comparison to what we had just been sown - as if they are not as important anymore - they are part of something bigger.
- Second Scene (Merritt McKinney)
Cut Away Shot: The scene starts with a cut away of his poster advertising his business. It shows us that he is more serious about his job and reputation and his main focus is to make money instead of entertain people. The camera zooms out from the picture to let us compare him to what he looks like on the poster.
Medium Shots:
The medium shots in this scene focus on the way he hypnotizes the woman and his body language while talking to both her and her husband. That way the audience can focus on his swift and smooth movements and can clearly see he is the one in control in this situation.
Over The Shoulder Shot:
Over the shoulder shots are used to get a better perception of the story, as we invade two characters' personal space. It shows us the facial expressions and reaction of one character in result of the actions of the other. During the conversation between the two men, the close ups combined with over the shoulder shots really get the audience involved in the conversation making the atmosphere intense and keeping them on their toes.
Extreme Close Ups:
The ECU shots in this scene intensify on the pressure the man is under, help us direct our attention on where the performer's focus is on and lets the audience in on his technique - the only act in this opening sequence which is explained and makes sense to everyone. Even though ECUs are meant to intimidate the audience, the man's face expressions and look of fear and feeling uncomfortable help us feel more powerful and in control, as in we're in Merritt McKinney's shoes. His privacy is completely invaded and feel as if we are let in on his life and into his head just like the performer working with him in this scene.
- Third Scene (Jack Wilder)
Establishing Shot:
The introduction of the third character, Jack Wilder starts off with an establishing shot to show that the location is very important for this event. Jack seems to be the simplest performer out of the others, since he is at a public cruise and barely gathering a small crowd. The fact that he is in New York makes him seem like an ordinary person, as it's normal to have street performers in big cities. By the way he is introduced, the audience is left with the impression that he is small and not significant on the big scale.
Panning Long Shot:
The camera pans around him as he goes up the stairs to reveal him in a long shot later. This is a normal point of view and lets the audience select their subject of focus, as his job is to make distractions and direct people's attention in the wrong direction without having to be the centre of attention.
Over The Shoulder, Medium Shot:
This shot allows us to look at his trick from the crowd's point of view without any fancy shots or too much attention on details. Since the angle is at a normal height, he doesn't seem powerful or powerless. The various positions of the camera and the shaking makes it more realistic, as we get a good view of his trick from a few angles. Last medium shot shows his interaction with the person who figured out his trick, as in their exchange is normal, without focusing on any detail, letting the audience focus selectively and miss out on the fact that Jack has robbed the citizen.
Close Ups:
The close ups in this scene only focus on the trick - the spoon bending, making it look believable as this is the first time we get close and we don't have a chance to see the point at which he swaps the spoons. Unlike the other scenes, where the purpose of the close up shots is to focus on the characters' face expressions and their reaction to something, the close ups here focus on subjects. Jack is positioned behind the spoon as he is not important in this - he is behind the scenes.
- Fourth Scene (Henley Reeves)
Long Shot, Ariel:
Similarly to Jack's introduction, Henley also starts with the camera circling her to reveal that she is high up, surrounded by people, admired and respected as a big performer - the most known performer out of the four. Every long shot she is introduced in is short and followed by the audience's reaction to her (mostly men)
Extreme Close Up:
Tells us that the important part of this scene is the fact that her hands and her feet are locked - naturally the part the audience looks at at acts like those.
Cut Away Shot: Slanted angle focuses on the clock, zooming in and building up the pressure. Her time is running out and the frame duration decreases to build up anticipation and chaos. Gets the audience involved and keeps their interest on the eventful scene.
➸ Mise-en-Scene
- First Scene (J. Daniel Atlas): The first scene, where J. Daniel Atlas performs, takes place on the streets of a big city. This is an example of using stereotypes to show where you can usually find magicians. He seems to have gathered a crowd in the middle of an empty central place at night, entertaining them with card tricks. The colours used in this are rather dark and simple, as if something is meant to go unnoticed. The contrast between everyone's outfits, the cards and the big buildings help us direct our attention at the right thing in each shot.
- Second Scene (Merritt McKinney): The setting of the second scene seems to be some type of holiday place, where Merritt McKinney sets his small business workshop. There are a lot of people around them, making it look like some type of a coffee shop or a restaurant, while the landscape seen through the window hints on a holiday escape place. There is nothing professional about the place he performs his hypnosis at, except for the one poster of him from years ago, which seems unreliable since it's outdated and nontraditional. The colours seem to be bright and vibrant, but also not too intense and in some way calming - typical for a holiday place.
- Third Scene (Jack Wilder): Jack is the simplest performer out of all, doing his tricks in front of tourists at a cheap tour boat under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. The skyline behind him and the city colours represent him as a typical urban boy who has learned to work with what he can to get attention and be noticed - this is why him performing a trick is not surprising.
- Fourth Scene (Henley Reeves):
Henley performs her trick in a theater (stage setting) in a big city, since she seems to be the most successful out of the four. The place is full of people who paid to see her, cheering and admiring her, which tells us she is popular and well known. The colours in this scene contrast between dark and serious colours and bright, dreamy colours (such as baby blue and silver).This reflects on the mood change throughout this scene as it is dark and scary, only to turn out to be a joke.
➸ Lighting
The lighting in this opening sequence is high key throughout all four scenes, That way nothing looks too suspicious and the audience feels like they have the choice of being fooled and distracted (reflects on the idea of being a magician and performing under the spotlight). It makes us feel as if they have nothing to hide and everything is out in the open - as if we are in control of the situation.
➸ Sound
- Diegetic
The diegetic sounds in this movie clip are the dialogues between the characters and the reaction of the audience on the first, third and fourth scene. - Non-Diegetic
There is a background music, which changes tempo throughout to help the characters' different personalities to come out and really shine through.
➸ Editing
The movie clip starts off with longer frames to introduce each character slowly, focusing on specific aspects, The scenes where a trick is about to happen tend to be shorter to build up tension and provoke anticipation in the audience.
➸Representation
- Each character introduction starts off with an establishing shot to show their environment and where they can be seen performing, giving us an idea of what kind of performer they are. This tells us that location plays a big role in this movie and it affects each character personally.
- J. Daniel Atlas is presented as a street magician who is mainly focused on women and always being the centre of attention. He tries to make a show by grabbing random people and making them a part from his performance pulling tricks on them. That way he is more remembered and interesting for his subject of interest - attractive women on the street. He is the stereotype for a jobless man in his 20s, coming from a middle class family in a big city, who believes he has a special talent in magic.
- Merritt McKinney is the hypnosis old, bald man who uses his skills of persuasion to bribe and manipulate people for more money and his personal enjoyment. He is the more like 'the star who never made it' type of guy as he seems to be hung up on his 5 minutes of fame which were evidently awhile ago. He comes across as a smart and 'sneaky' type of person who wouldn't bother to step over others in order to take the easy way out of things. Overall, he doesn't look trustworthy.
- Jack Wilder is a younger version of Atlas, as he gathers a similar type of crowd in a similar setting in order to do simple tricks to mask something bigger (just like Atlas). He could be the stereotype of a boy coming from a bad background who has learnt to do simple tricks in order to make enough to live off it. He performs a small trick, which turns out to be a distraction while he goes for a bigger goal - robbing innocent people. This confirms the stereotype of a street boy.
- Henley Reeves's character is slightly more complex. While she breaks the stereotype for women, being more successful than the other performers and doing just fine on her own, she is also fulfilling the stereotype for a female performer. She wears tight, shiny outfits in bright colours to grab more attention and distract the audience from what she is actually doing. Her audience is mainly made up of men, which is understandable since she uses he feminine side and the old case of damsel in distress to her advantage, making the audience believe her when she claims to be in danger.
➸Narrative
The narrative in this opening sequence is linear, as it follows a simple story told by dance. It has it's own equilibrium, disruption, recognition, repair and new equilibrium and it is all in order, making it seem longer than it actually is.
➸Camera Work
- Establishing Shot
This shot opens the scene and introduces us to the environment she is in. It shows her as a small insignificant silhouette. It makes her look innocent and vulnerable, getting the audience to feel sorry for her. The rest of the establishing shots in the scene are to introduce separate setting changes and give us an overall look of the situation as a break from the intense close ups and overwhelming camera work.
- Close Ups
There are various close up shots of her feet in the beginning, to show her grace and innocence. She is light on her feet and gentle, contrasting with the character introduced later on. Overall, the close up shots of her are pure invasion of personal space and it makes us look at her as an open book and vulnerable.
-Medium Shots
In the beginning, there aren't many medium shots portraying her as she is meant to look strong and powerful and the scenes are meant to compliment her face expressions and feet movement. However, as soon as the other character steps in, there are a lot of medium shots, showing the connection between the characters, their relationship, allows us to compare them and make our own conclusions, as well as giving us an accurate outlook of the situation in shot.
- Panning
Shaky effect is made while panning to make it look unstable and corrupted, like it's about to crash and fall apart. The circling around the characters drives us into the storyline even more, overwhelming us and creating the effect of being pulled and pushed around, just like the main character.
➸ Mise-en-Scene
There is nothing else in shot except for the main character and the intruder. They seem to be on stage, judging by the spotlight, but also in complete darkness, somewhere no one could see them. The whole setting, working with the contrast in the characters' outfits and the action happening in the scene creates a different atmosphere that can be associated with 'the middle' between heaven and hell, having the characters represent angel vs devil.
➸ Lighting
The Lighting in this clip is poor. It only uses one main spotlight, just like stage lights to create the effect of being looked at, put under pressure and putting on a show for everyone. The one light creates a big contrast between the white outfit, her makeup and the harsh shadows that have been created (and later on the other character who seems to emerge from the dark). However, there is a dim tone to the lighting, making it look a bit dream-like and unrealistic
➸ Sound
The sound is non-diegetic, as there is no natural noise that can come from the scene. There is background music to add to the idea of a performance (since the main character is dancing), but it also works well with the storyline, building up the tension and accenting on important bits through change in volume. There are also other sound effects when the second character appears to show an unwanted,unnecessary addition. However, as the two characters start to dance together, the sound effects blend with the soundtrack, making it seem natural, as if the character was there all along.
➸ Editing
There aren't any special effects or fancy editing techniques, as the opening sequence is packed with action enough and doesn't need any more complication, because then the audience could be confused on what to look at and may lose track on the story. There are no transitions to shots - straight cuts are used to transition different camera angles, if there aren't any tracking/panning shots to replace it. Scenes are long to accent more on what is happening from an observer's point of view.
➸Representation
- The stage is presented in a unique way, as it shows no audience and only one harsh spotlight, suggesting that as a performer you are alone, looked over by loads of people, as if you are a puppet in someone's hands - once you are on stage you are alone against the world (could be a way of representing life too)
- The two characters in conflict seem to be fighting, creating a binary opposition - good vs bad. The different outfits and makeup, complimented by the soundtrack tells the audience that the one in white is innocent, small and good, while the one in black is evil, cruel and has power over her. It could represent a battle between a devil and an angel, as it is intense or any other variation of this theme.
- The whole scene seems dimmed, unrealistic, having the sound detached and louder as if it comes from your head, camera angles that pull you in and out of the trans the ballet dancer seems to be in, and mainly with the second character appearing out of nowhere and taking control over the situation. This makes it look as if it's a dream, or at least something that would never happen in real life.
