INSPIRATION FOR OPENING SEQUENCE

The film 'This Is England' is one of my favourite films. It is directed by Shane Meadows, a well-known English director who is famous for producing low-budget British films. Despite the little money invested into the film, it won noticeable acclaim and numerous awards.

The main soundtrack for 'This Is England' is used in my production of 'Score' and I believe that it compliments the mood and choice of shots most effectively.

Another film by Shane Meadows that I really enjoyed is 'Dead Man's Shoes' and it further displays the impacts that drug abuse can have on oneself and others around you.

This film is another all-British production that further inspires me to create something similar and the make-up of both of these films can be cross-referenced to.

'Breaking Bad' is a popular American TV drama that has recently concluded on a global viewing stage. The series consists of a cancer inflicted chemistry teacher who turns to making crystal meth in the last few years of his life.

The theme of the show revolves around drugs and the numerous drug scenes have inspired me to capture relevant drug production scenes.

SYNOPSIS OF 'SCORE'

The opening sequence production of 'Score' involves the viewing of drugs being produced by the main character 'Alex', played by myself. The severe consequences of consuming these drugs are seen as Maxwell's death is heavily built up to add suspense. Maxwell eventually dies in a wood surrounded by no one, facing massive trouble.

A cross-cutting technique is deployed throughout the production to entertain the audience in more ways than one with a dual narrative creating a fairly fast-paced editing as well.

As the opening develops, Alex walks on through a rural area to meet a customer and complete a drug deal and as he is walking, his facial expressions and body language show a sense of regret and remorse, hinting to the audience that he feels it has been a mistake producing all of these drugs. 

The drug deal is completed with a small role being played by 'Arthur Bean' and the opening sequence concludes leaving the audience wondering how Alex will recover and how he may possibly develop or hinder his life from involving himself in drug life.

GENERATING OPENING SEQUENCE IDEAS

I created a mind map to help me generate some ideas on what type of Opening Sequence I would be producing. It helped me to draw on what genre I would enjoy working around and what would actually be feasible to film and look like a realistic and good quality production.

OPENING SEQUENCE- STORYBOARD

In preparation for the production stage of my product I have created a storyboard to essentially bring my ideas together and to gain a greater understanding of what shots I want to do and when.

By doing a storyboard I will save more time when shooting my film as I will have a clear vision as to what to film and how the actors need to portray their roles in my opening sequence.

KEY CONVENTIONS OF OPENING/TITLE SEQUENCES

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

1) Establishment of a scene/setting.

 

2) Characters sometimes, the establishment of them, sometimes creating a mysterious aura about a character.

3) A lot of the time is fast paced, throwing the audience straight into the action.

4) Sometimes set in the past to set the tone and situation or in the future to build up to that moment.

Conventions of a Title Sequence

1) Composer

2) Producer

3) Actors

4) Title of Film

5) Studio

6) Distributor

PITCH PRESENTATION- SCORE

HISTORY OF THE OPENING SEQUENCE

Film titles made their appearance in the earliest silent films, along with letter cards (or inter-titles), which provided context. Here is the main title from D.W. Griffith’s “Intolerance” (1916), which many reviewers and historians consider the greatest film of the silent era.

Opening credits since the early 1980s, if present at all, identify the major actors and crew, while the closing credits list an extensive cast and production crew. Historically, opening credits have been the only source of crew credits and the cast, although over time the their was a tendency to repeat the cast, and perhaps add a few players, with their roles identified (as was not always the case in the opening credits), evolved.

The ascendancy of television movies after 1964 and the increasingly short "shelf-life" of films in theatres has greatly contributed to the credits convention which came with television programs from the beginning, of holding the vast majority of cast and crew information for display at the end of the show.

Films would only use basic titles and up until television came around and dominated the visual scene, cinemas started to step up and upgrade from picture titles to actual visuals.