Titles/Credits

Below are the possible content of the credits which we will be using on our opening sequence. We have decided to lay the titles over existing shots rather than putting them on blank screens due to the fact that we don't have any spare time and also due to the fact that as our opening is quite slow moving in terms of plot, then it would add interest to the shots by laying the titles over them and if we used blank screens it would break up the shots too much.

Film Title: Retribution
Actors: Eva Howard, Joshua Dean,
Production Companies: Red Ink Productions,
Director: Tristan Rodrigues
Producer: Phillip Richardson
Music by: Seth Mason
Casting by: Abigail Thompson

Stephanie

Potential Name Ideas

Angela:

• I thought maybe we could use a well known idiom that has potential thriller connotations and/or is relevant to the rest of the hypothetical film.
  
  Examples of films that do this:
  -Murphy's Law (not technically a film, more of a series but it is a bit of a crime/thriller thing).
• Something biblical?
• A man's name, like Paul, for example.

Nick:

Maybe something using a one word title to create enigma and relating to the plot, eg. Taken, Snatch, Watcher, Seized or Abduction. Abduction suggests that the victim is being taken for a period of time and not actually killed, so it may be more appropriate than the other names.

Another type of title could involve a phrase or part of a phrase such as the film 'Without a Trace'. eg, 'Falling for Shadows', 'Darkness Saves', 'Running from Fate'

Could also be two seemingly random words that go together to give hints about the film, such as 'Blood Escape', 'Four Walls', 'Absolute Innocence', 'Shadows Beckon', 'Perfectly Flawed'

Steph:

Noir - in french it means black (connotations of darkness etc) but also connotations of film noir?, a male's name -such as those proposed by Angela - don't give too much away and set up interest in what the film would be about - it's more subtle than something connoting other things, Snare - to catch, Control - idea of dominance and force and compulsion

Zen:

Some enigmatic titles can be names with an adjective such as Creeping Daniel this helps with thoughts of suspense and does not give too much away. We could use names which are just a single image of something that is dangerous much like the title "Saw."

-Angela

Meeting: Thursday 29th November 2007

Who attended: Nick, Stephanie, Zen

In our meeting today we discussed our test footage which we have edited into a rough version of our opening. From this opening (below) we have found a few shots which we are going to improve and decided on some editing techniques.



Editing techniques:

1. At the end of the opening the main character is grabbed from behind, we think we might either cut it before her head leaves the shot or else we will put it into slow motion.
2. We have decided that for our titles that having the titles over the action would look good. This is because there isn't much action throughout and therefore isn't a need to break it up.

Shot changes/problems:

1. The shot of the main character walking down the hallway is at the moment too broken up, so we decided to take the shot from a different angle in Rebecca's house to be able to see her coming out of the room and walking down the hall way.
2. The outside shots were too dark and so we have decided to start shooting earlier and also use a porch light to give more light to the door way to be able to see the action - also for this section of the sequence we really liked the variety of angles and positions of the camera so we are definately going to include that as it is quite disorientating.
3. In the close up shots of the glass, alkaseltzers and the cigarettes it looks like a still shot/photo so the actress needs to move more to show there is movement in the frame.
4. With the close up on the glass the shot itself is too long, but we need a longer time to see the fizzing alkaseltzer, also in our rough edit we had a continuity problem so we need to include a shot of the girl picking up the glass before she puts it down.
5. When the girl is grabbed from behind we thought that perhaps we should specifically have the girl putting her hand out on the wall (there is already some of this in the shot) and it gradually moves out of the frame in the slow motion.

As Angela wasn't at this meeting (she was off of school ill) we will make sure that she agrees with all of the things that we talked about and ask her if she has any ideas as well.

-Steph

Ideas

So far we've had a few ideas which I'll detail below. Also if we come up with anymore ideas/anyone has any, then I think just put them up here?

1st Idea.
The opening starts with a close up on a pack of cigarettes/a glass/bottle of alcoholic drink. The background is fuzzy but you can make out the shape of a body which reaches towards the drink/cigarettes and takes them. Then they sit up take a drink/drag on a cigarette, but you don't see their face clearly, only their lips down. Then she puts down the drink/stubs out the cigarette and swivels out of bed with her back to you.

The next shot is of her bare feet landing on the floor and the camera tracks from behind at ankle height following her to the door which she opens and the camera stops, tilting up slightly as you watch her pick her way down a hallway which is littered with the remnants of a party. These 'remnants' would be signified with empty drinks bottles/cans, some people asleep in the hallway (one or two), party streamers, a knocked over flower pot/broken table and shoes. The character is wearing a party dress.

Then we watch the character open the door at the end of the hallway halfway - this is matched when the camera cuts to inside a bathroom watching her open the door the rest of the way. She then proceeds to walk up to the camera and adjust her hair, taking off her makeup/washing her face using the mirror (which the camera is in place of). This is the first point when we see her face completely.

Then we have an over shoulder shot of a girl asleep on the floor and the character starts talking to them - laughing at how drunk the girl was the previous night - meanwhile the character continues to look in the mirror. When the girl doesn't reply she frowns and looks down at the girl who has a look of terror on her face. She crouches down to comfort her (over shoulder shot possibly?) and then she pulls back her hand as she realises it is covered in blood which has soaked through the girls clothes from a stab wound.

2nd Idea.
It is dark/night time and in a countryside setting (at least quite secluded). A car pulls up with its headlights on facing the camera. A girl gets out, dressed up and obviously drunk, she thanks the driver for the lift and says goodbye to her other friends in the car before staggering away down her driveway towards the front door (the door wouldn't be in view, it would preferably be at the side of the house, out of shot).

Then the car pulls away past the camera which is quite shaky and front the point of view of someone although we don't know who. This shot could also be an over the shoulder shot of someone hiding watching the previous event happen.

Next the camera moves around the corner (a fence or bush) from the point of view of the character watching the girl or as an over the shoulder shot of this character.

The next shot is closer to the girl and of her struggling to find her keys then open her front door and we see her closing the front door from the inside or at least pushing it too and it seeming to close.

At this point the original idea of the cigarette/drink shot of the girl waking up and getting out of bed and then walking towards the bathroom - although this time there wouldn't be anything to do with a party in the hallway, her clothes from the previous night would be strewn down the hallway and she would be dressed in a baggy t-shirt as a nightdress, her clothes left where she had left them as she got undressed on the way to bed the night before.

So she picks her way towards the bathroom but this time there is a shot from in front of her and as she walks closer to the camera there is a pan to the front door which is still open from the night before, she hadn't closed it properly.

So there is a shot of the door opening (although possibly her turning the handle and opening it slightly) and the next shot is from inside the bathroom of her opening the door the rest of the way (the two shots would have to match up). She again uses the camera as a mirror and goes to wash her face (an over the shoulder shot may be needed to establish that this is what she is doing). As she lifts her face up from washing her face she is grabbed from behind with someones hand over her mouth (the hand would be in a leather glove).

Basically the main character is the girl and she is watched from outside her house the previous night before being kidnapped the next day. The intruder gets in via her front door which she didn't close properly. By not obviously leaving the front door open it stops the audience from guessing what will happen next.

It would cut immediately to the title screen and that is how the sequence would end.


Note to group: This is just what I can remember from the ideas and they've pretty much come from my blog. So if anyone wants to edit them with stuff they remember or stuff I've got wrong then go ahead. And also as I said in top: any more ideas then just put them up here? - Steph