Interstellar film opening analysis

Interstellar Opening scene

Director: Christopher Nolan

Studio: Paramount

Budget: $165 million

Worldwide earning: $675,120,017

Genre: Sci-Fi

The opening of Interstellar is a flashback/ dream the protagonist is having of a plane crash he was involved in. The first shot is a slider/ dolly shot in which is a spacecraft placed on a very dusty book shelf. This foreshadows the whole film and also sets the mood for the film. The interstellar title is overlaid in a very spaced out san serif font, this is a very modern and futuristic looking text which when linked to the spacecraft instantly reminds us of the Sci-Fi nature of this film. There is no sound which is a very prominent feature this film introduces following high tension moments with the sound of space, silence, this allows us as an audience to create our own emotions and feelings towards the shot and it further emerges us into the world created by Nolan. 

The mise-en-scene is a very futuristic plane suggesting a futuristic setting we later learn to be dystopian. The first shot is of a corn field, this is not part of the flash back we can tell due to the blue tint to the image suggesting a very depressed time in contrast with the warm tones of the plane in the sky almost dream like which we acknowledge as being a dream.

To enhance the action and tension in the first sequence Nolan uses "shaky camera" which immerses us in the action and also makes us feel uncomfortable which links to the intense force the protagonist feels in the plane. The sound of error bleeping and violent wind suggests conflict and further adds tension the the scene emphasising the stress in which the protagonist and plane are under. The protagonist "Cooper" is wearing a military pilot suit and there is an intercom voice controlling the plane suggesting further military involvement/ past. The use of  flashback gives us background to Cooper as a character, someone who is resilient and brave who, as we find out later, also cares a lot for his children.

Cooper is introduced to us with a close-up shot. Dropping us directly in the action with him and getting introduced to his personality through his facial expressions in this time of great danger. We get to know he is a very resilient and  well trained pilot as he wishes to keep control even though the system feels the plane is crashing.

The next shot is also a close up but looking up at Cooper in his position of command just before the crash takes place. We see Coopers face with the background of the cockpit strong in shadow tones, this shift from the shot before contrasts greatly as there is no longer light around out protagonist showing there is no hope and that his fate is sealed, We then hear the violent wind foliage become

more deadly as the commanding voice tells Cooper the power to the plane has been shut off out of Coopers control. Error sound still plays through the whole sequence of cockpit shots.

the sequence then cuts to an outside the plane shot similar to the one before however this time there is only the wind sounds as the plane plunges into the clouds. The camera is mounted to the plane also once again emerging us more into the environment. There is then another cut to an over the shoulder shot of Cooper who is experiencing immense turbulence and we are greeted once again with the loud error sounds and shaking from inside the plane. This difference between sound environments from inside the plane and outside the plane emphasises how Cooper has been abandoned by all contact and is practically left for dead as the plane dives through the clouds, giving us a sense should he survive that he will be against government and military for this reason. The plane sequence concludes with the over the shoulder shot as Cooper takes a big hit to the head which as an audience we would think was fatal but we are then confirmed of the dream nature of this flashback as the scene cuts to black and we instantly hear the voice of our second protagonist, Murphy.

The use of only daylight in this scene of the early morning suggests they are living in quite poor conditions as no other electricity has been activated for the duration of this scene. The morning daylight also links to the first shot before the plane scene as it also contains very cool blue shots which suggest a time of sadness as blue is a very solemn colour. Murphy is minimally lit looking down at Cooper who we now presume is her father. The shot of Murphy is a mid, look up shot portraying Murphy as a very strong character who is also caring as she is here to check on her father. She is not lit very well which also suggests there is more to Murphy than we can originally, a certain characteristic that we are not yet aware of. Murphy uses deixis referring instantly to " the crash " this creates further narrative enigma as we as an audience now know the crash has been dreamt of before but we also still don't know why Cooper was in the plane in the first place. Murphy is also wearing quite tatted clothes which enhances our idea of a poverish setting in a dystopian world. Murphy's reference to the "ghost" is also a foreshadowing moment as is later revealed there is a supernatural presence watching over them. The reference to the ghost also creates tension and increases are narrative enigma

The final shot is a tracking shot of Coopers silhouette walking towards the window. The use of the silhouette shows the dark times Cooper and the world is experiencing as we are later made aware of the food shortage. The tracking shot also follows over Coopers shoulder towards a very cold morning landscape seemingly in the middle of no where, setting the home scene for the film. The soundtrack is also introduced at this point and sets the genre of the film, containing strong organs typical for a Sci-Fi track. We then see the farm area which links back to the very first shot, Heli shot of the

farm which in hind sight could also be foreshadowing the "drone sequence" which was brought to their house by the forces surrounding it.

In conclusion the opening of the film is rather confusing creating a lot of narrative enigma which like most films makes sense by the end. The use of cinematography and sound design help break up the opening sequence between the action and peaceful wakeup to introduce this very iconic and frankly amazing film full of realistic science and fact yet at the same time, action packed and brilliant.

The Godfather Opening analysis

The Godfather Opening Analysis

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Production company: Paramount

Budget: $6,000,000

Earnings Domestic: $133,698,000

Genre: Crime.

Opening: Black screen with voice over creates suspense as souds track is introduced over I dent and titles. Soundtrack is very famous and a very traditional Italian style song, creating strong pride in culture something the mafia are well known for. Cut to close up shot shows what we would think to be the protagonist but the slow pull back tracking shot then reveals the protagonist who the initial character is talking too. This creates narrative enigma. We switch from POV to looking over the shoulder of "The Godfather".

Italian accent of the voice over shows a foreign culture and the lack of foliage creates an environment of a secluded nature, secretive.

The absence of an establishing shot creates a mysterious environment almost like the characters don't want us to know where they are. In addition our main protagonist is in the shadows creating him as a "shady" character which links with the rest of the film. Mafia theme.

We are introduced to the protagonist from behind, we do not see much of him to start with and we see him making hand gestures to a charecter off screen which gives us a sense of him immediate power. The protagonist is sat down yet we still look slightly down on the undertaker who speaks fearfully talks about the crimes committed on his daughter and begs for help, furthering the sense of power the protagonist holds. 

The mise-en-scene consists of a dark room which very little of is revealed to us at first but as the camera pulls back to reveal the "godfather"  with his body guards in the room shows him as an instantly important person sat in a very large chair.

In addition the hard down lighting on the main character shows him as menacing and almost evil, which links with the dialogue of the other character in the shot who is begging the "godfather" to take illegal action against his daughters beaters.

  The shot shown at the bottom.shows a medium shot however the character who is in need is looking up at the "godfather" further depicting him as a very important or high ranking character.

In overview the scene is very up close and personal which fits in with the close community of the Mafia and how they operate. This causes the audience discomfort to us as an audience creating uncertainty towards the characters. The Godfather also speaks with a very strong voice where as the inferior other character almost trembles as he speaks.                                                                                            

To conclude the scene we see the protagonists need for respect, this is  a very powerful way to introduce this character as it shows his  showing the group as very exclusive and something many would desire to be a part of. The warm colours of the scene and lighting also suggest there is a humble side to the characters and community.

There is minimal sound in the opening, this draws attention to the protagonists strong voice and very disctinctive accent which is normally associated with the mafia this contrasts to the undertakers nervous and fearful accent as he approaches the Godfather for help.



Road to Perdition analysis

Road to Perdition

Starring: Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig

Director: Sam Mendes

Budget: $80 million

Total Profit: $104,454,762

Year: 2002

Studio: DreamWorks

This film is one of my favourites because of the story and concept. How a "gangster" is willing to sacrifice all his lifes work in order to save his child and is willing to go against everything he stands for in order to protect his family.

Visually the film is amazing. I loved how the weather set the mood of each scene and the colour grading is also reflective of the mood. Cinematography really pulls all the story together in order to create a visually compelling film.

The theme of the film also was a high point for me, I love crime based films but also classical ones such as "The Godfather".

The film creates a sense of emergence as it makes you really feel for the characters and what they represent. The film is an emotional rollercoaster as Cliché as it sounds and really places us in the world Mendes creates. The film has a very sobering end leaving us very shocked but followed closely by relief that the son "Michael" is then able to live a normal life away from all the dangers of his past life.

The film shows how everyone has a weakness and that family will always come first even if it means risking everything and each shot really helps show emotion through camera movement, lighting and colours.

To conclude I feel the films story and the whole concept and thorough thought and planning that went in to tell the story in the most impactful way possible was what really made this film one f my favourites.

The Trailer

About

About me:

Hello my name is Miles Charlesworth, I am 16 years of age and have a burning passion for film making.

I first got into film making after watching an array of scooter videos online and becoming captivated on all the unique perspectives to view the sport from. I have aspirations to study film at film school then own my own commercial video production company after this.

Currently I do a lot of freelance work and have my own website : MCharMedia and on there you can view some of the recent work I have done for various clients as well as a few personal projects.

I do an internship with a Yorkshire travel site: Live Every Minute on which I go round Yorkshire and film the latest and greatest adventures we have to offer. They call me their "secret weapon"

I also have a YouTube channel also under the name of MCharMedia that can be accessed through my site on which I post frequent action sports videos as I feel the internet now is the biggest platform for media and videos are the most important video tool of this era.

Cinematography has interested me from a young age and I have self taught myself how to use a camera in full manual settings and spend most of my money on camera equipment.

On this page you will see my progress and projects I am working on live throughout my time at IGS Post 16 and I hope it will be of use and interest anyone reading.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, Miles

The Brief

THE BRIEF

Your mission is to carry out the following brief:

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.

The coursework is worth 50% of the AS (same at A2) and the marking (detailed later) is divided into 3 sections:

1 RESEARCH AND PLANNING: 20%

2 PRODUCTION: 60%

3 EVALUATION: 20%

Your work is marked partially on my observations of your approach and level of organisation, but fundamentally its a DVD and your blog that are marked.

All three aspects are assessed as one of the following:

MINIMAL, BASIC, PROFICIENT, EXCELLENT

You are all capable of meeting the assement criteria of EXCELLENT!

RESEARCH & PLANNING

To hit ‘excellent’

(16-20 marks):

1 There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience.

2 There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.

3 There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.

4 There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning

5 Time management is excellent.

EVALUATION

To hit ‘excellent’

(16-20 marks) requires meeting the following:

1 Excellent understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representation, forms and conventions in relation to production.

2 Excellent ability to refer to the choices made and outcomes.

3 Excellent understanding of their development from preliminary to full task.

4 Excellent ability to communicate.

5 Excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation

PRODUCTION

To hit ‘excellent’

(48-60 marks) requires meeting the following:

1. There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
2. holding a shot steady, where appropriate;
3. framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;
4. using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;
5. shooting material appropriate to the task set;
6. selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;
7. editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;
8. using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set;
9. using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
10. using titles appropriately.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR/NOTE/DISCUSS

SECTIONS/THEMES: You could simplify this to the 4 technical areas you have to consider for your exam, which would help you sharpen your skills for it. Use the handouts with summaries of key terms to help with this. (Don't use numbering in your sub-headings)

• cinematography (camera work, shot types, angles, framing, movement)
• editing (including transitions, SFX; linear or non-linear; (dis)continuity etc)
• sound ((non-)diegetic; use of music [often signifies core target audience + genre - can also be clumsy and overused; say so if you think so]; audio bridge; voiceover etc)
• mise-en-scene (includes props, locations, costume, makeup - verisimilitude?)

You also need to analyse representations in your exam. Titles and idents are also an important part of openings. A non-Media student will invariably focus on narrative and give a linear description (this happens, then this happens...). Narrative is useful to note, but be brief, and focus as much on exposition (what and how much/little info is provided for the audience on time period, location, key characters, genre etc; its likely narrative enigma will be employed to some extent). So, narrative/exposition is a useful heading.

Also worth considering:

• intertextuality (links/references to existing texts)
• genre conventions observed ... or broken (very useful to note so you can find examples to look back on when designing your own work. you could also note hybridity here, where you see signifiers of 2 or more genres [to help widen audience appeal])
• how the opening concludes and the main movie resumes (the final shot of your opening is incredibly important, so its worth carefully noting these)
• particularly useful shots/details - if you see something you think is well done and you might want to take influence from its worth highlighting

Again, I'm not setting out any compulsory sub-heading titles; pick your own, just make them clear and stick to the same wording across all your posts.

If you've already done some posts which focus simply or narrative, or don't clearly set out useful info in a way you will be able to quickly find it in future, edit such posts. Remember, you're marked on blog presentation too. 

• IDENTS: How long are they typically, how high-tech/complex; how many do we see; where do they appear
• TITLES: This is a key part of your overall coursework task, so detailed notes are important. Which roles/companies are noted; what specific language is used; do any names/companies appear more than once; what font (serif/sans-serif; colour; case) is used; note the positioning (does this differ between titles) and any animation; any graphic element to the titles; is there a gap between titles or do they continuously appear (eg company names - A Warp Films Production - a gap then individual credits?)
• OPENING SHOT: always worth noting. Any audio bridge linking it with idents?
• RUNNING TIME OF OPENING: How long is the self-contained opening sequence? Is it clear where this ends?
• CLOSING SHOT OF OPENING + TRANSITION TO MAIN BODY OF FILM: Always note the final shot too. Do you get a fade-out or other transition or a straight cut? Are titles used to reinforce a change of location/time immediately after the opening ends?
• EDITING: any transitions to signify ellipsis; any SFX; continuity editing style or any hallmarks of discontinuity?
• LENGTH OF TAKES + EDITING PACE: looooong takes or fast-paced editing with short takes? much variation in this? Simply by following one character/keeping referring back to them also suggests to the audience that they are a central character.
• SHOT VARIETY: ask yourself as you watch these whether you think further shots should be inserted - is there sufficient shot variety? This and the above point are linked. Look for simple things too like two-shots used to signify personal relationships.
• MISE-EN-SCENE: This links to the above point: what does the mise-en-scene communicate to the audience (providing exposition on location, time period, genre etc)? Is verisimilitude achieved (can you see evidence of costuming, set-dressing, props etc)?
• SETUPS/SCENES: Each time you leave a room or other part of a location you have to work to setup the next scene: how many setups or scenes are involved?
• FLASHBACKS/MAJOR ELLIPSIS: Halloween is one of many that opens with events and then gives a title stating x years later so we know we're now in the present.
• NARRATIVE ENIGMA V EXPOSITION: What do we learn about setting, time period, narrative, characters, genre - and what is intentionally withheld? Do we appear to meet antagonist or protagonist/s? You could also comment here on plot, cliffhangers etc
• SOUND + MUSIC: Note use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Specifically, how is music used, if at all - is it continuous; are multiple music tracks used; does the volume level rise? Does the music genre seem to hint at the target audience and/or genre?
• GENRE SIGNIFIERS: Do you see anything which seems to point towards a particular genre?
• INTERTEXTUALITY: Are there references to existing texts?
• REPRESENTATIONS: Use of stereotypes, countertypes, a mix of both? When looking at horror openings, be alert for stock characters like scream queens, masked killer, jock, nerd, final girl, ineffective adult/authority figure etc
• GENRE/BUDGET/ERA SPECIFIC? You'll find that conventions have changed over time and also vary with budget and genre.

MEMORABLE ASPECTS: Quite simply, anything you thought was particularly interesting or noteworthy. Especially as you begin to work on horror openings, you should note where you see useful examples of costume, dialogue, editing etc which you may well take direct inspiration from.

Assessment Criteria

Preliminary exercise:

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main task:

The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.

BASIC MARKS BREAKDOWN:

RESEARCH & PLANNING 20%

PRODUCTION                                  60%

EVALUATION                                 20%

MARKSCHEME

All three aspects are assessed as one of:

Mark out of:    60        20

MINIMAL      0-23     0-7

BASIC                        24-35   8-11

PROFICIENT 36-47   12-15

EXCELLENT 48-60   16-20

To hit ‘excellent’(16-20 marks) for RESEARCH AND PLANNING requires the following:

•Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed;

•There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience;

•There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props;

•There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding;

•There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning;

•Time management is excellent.

To hit ‘excellent’(48-60 marks) for PRODUCTION requires meeting the following:

There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

•material appropriate for the target audience and task;

•using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;

•using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;

•shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scène;

•using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.

To hit ‘excellent’(16-20 marks) for EVALUATION requires meeting the following:

•Excellent skill in the use of appropriate digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.

•Excellent understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representation, forms and conventions in relation to production.

•Excellent ability to refer to the choices made and outcomes.

•Excellent understanding of their development from preliminary to full task.

•Excellent ability to communicate.