Coursework Screenplay

1) So hows the family?
2) Fine.. Kid is going to university soon.. What about your wife?
1) Bitch left me for umm Mr. A Goldman.
2) Anyway, back to the matter at hand, what is this place?
1) It's a small privately owned bank at the end of the high street.
2) And what's the plan?
1) Glad you asked. *Opens up map on the table*
1) First of all we can't run in waving our bare hands, screaming like retards. I'll have an acquaintance stash equipment nearby, *points on the map* here in a dumpster.
2) Wait wait, who is this acquaintance?
1) Relax, all he asks for is a small cut of the money and he guarantees to keep his mouth shut.
2) ...
1) We get on location by train two, three stations away from the bank and using the back alleys we get to the equipment, the less people see us the better.
2) What about cameras?
1) I had our acquaintance scope a path out, *trails finger across map* this route has no cameras as far as he is noticed.
1) After we grab our equipment we go straight to the bank.
1) From there we walk up to the cashier and kindly ask for the bag to be filled with cash.
2) And if the cashier refuses? *1 drinks*
1) Then we ask again, but more... convincingly. *points to gun*
1) Assuming we get the cash we run to the nearby parking lot, thats where our getaway ride will be waiting.
2) Should be in and out within 5 minutes.

Today's and Yesterdays lesson

Today I wrote the screen play for our coursework project however I don't feel it is completed yet and may need work later on.

Yesterday we wrote down our ideas for costumes, props, locations and events in our coursework also how we are going to film it and put it together. From this discussion we understood that we will have a lot of trouble doing some of the things we really want to put in such as a bank for a location or filming with weapons.

Preliminary Work: Storyboard and Sequence

This is the storyboard and shot list I made for the preliminary work.

This is the final product after I edited it.

Opening Sequence Ideas

General idea:

• Heist, Criminal movie.
• Inspired by movies like reservoir dogs and Pulp fiction.
• Following the life of an ex-criminal trying to go clean.

Introduction idea:

• The characters talking over the plan of the heist one last time.
• The plan is played out in parallel cuts.
• Eventually something goes wrong in the heist however the characters are still talking over their plan.
• The introduction of the movie is actually the end of the story.
• At the end the screen fades to black with the text "5 days earlier" or something similar.

Characters:

• The main character is an ex-criminal trying to go clean but is convinced into helping his old acquaintance with the heist, though he is very professional about what he does he is shown as very innocent and doubtful.
• The old companion of the main character is a cold hearted professional who is also very charismatic and calm.
• Extras may be used for additional people for the heist party.

Inspiration:

Looking at movies like Reservoir dogs and the introduction of Pulp fiction which have the characters talk like normal people when in-fact they are robbers. Also try to capture some of the 70's and 80's feel perhaps with music.

Lord of War Opening Sequence

Genre:

Lord of war is an action drama with documentary like segments to inform the viewer about the illegal arms trade, its about Yuri Orlov a Ukrainian man who moves to the United States with his family during the eighties and we follow his life as he goes from nobody to a wanted international illegal arms dealer.

The opening sequence is "life cycle" of a bullet, we follow a bullet all the way from its production to its use. The lighting is natural, there is no emphasis on anything to show the insignificance of the bullet among millions the lighting does however change with the location, where the bullet started of in Russia the light is very blue and cold whereas when the bullet arrives in Africa the light changes to bright and tropical, this relates to what the movie is about as the main character is shown travelling around the world in his "job".

We are shown just how small and insignificant the bullet is in the sequence, everything we see is big and vast compared to the one tiny bullet among others, the bullet is rolled, thrown and handled just like any other however at the end of the introduction the bullet actually hits someone in the head as to show that such a small and insignifcant thing can kill people which relates to the action drama genre.

Narrative:

The whole sequence is just one contionous shot, transitioning is done by processes a bullet would take in its life cycle like boxing and shipping, the most apparent transition is when the box which contains the bullet is nailed shut, the screen goes dark and then the box is reopened shorty after however in another part of the world all together. We are given no important information in the sequence only that this bullet was produced, shipped and then presumably sold thus ending up in Africa.

Perspective:

Throughout the sequence we are in a locked camera angle, a POV shot of the bullet as if to the viewer in the "shoes" of this one bullet among many others, it makes the viewer think that bullets are in a way just like people.

Sound:

There is no dialogue in the sequence, the sound is entirely composed of diegetic sound such as the clacks of metal or the thud of hammers and non diegetic music which sounds very 70s and 80s as to hint at the time period the movie is set in but also works very well in sync with the video for example as the sequence is about to end the music starts getting very drawn out and depressing as to signify that this is "the end of the line".

I picked this introduction because I find it unique and interesting, (I also like the movie very much)

Quantum of Solace Opening Sequence

Camerawork

This is an establishing shot, with this you want to show the audience the setting or current locale of the movie however you dont want to give away exactly where this place is as it may be crucial unfolding the plot and just spilling to the audience might confuse them as to why the movie is taking place here.

We are then shown close ups of car fronts, backs, faces and bullets however we are not shown any major detail such as the whole face of the character. What you want to do is to hint at what might be happening or what is about to happen what you dont want to do is reveal everything at a given chance, its better to keep the audience engaged by letting them think about what they are seeing.

Editing

For the one minute the shots transition through quick snappy fades, this is to create tension for what is about to happen, when doing this you dont want to spend too much time on one shot as it will let the audience figure out what is happening on the screen too quickly thus destroying any sense of mystery or suspense.

When all is reaveled and we are shown the chase sequence the transition changes to quick snappy cuts to make the action feel exciting again when doing this its best not to stay on one shot for too long unless you are trying to focus on something of importance.

Miss en scene

Throughout the first half of the sequence everything is shown through low key lighting, this is to emphasise the tension trying to be created and should not be done once the hidden details have been shown or reaveled since the audience may suspect who the person is, what is shown on the screen etc.

The costumes in this case are suits, dark, classy it gives a clue to what the movie may be about, if the movie is about murder or crime in general you dont want the characters to wear bright colours as it decreases the ability to immerse yourself and think the movie is believable.

Title sequence

The opening intro of the movie is followed by a classical James Bond title sequence featuring classy music and fluid, smooth animation and special effects, the titles such as the names of the actors appear in rhythm with the music and what is happening on screen.

Soundtrack Pro and Final Cut Pro

Browsing through sound effects on Soundtrack Pro.

Rendering the sound effects I imported into Soundtrack Pro.

Adding and editing new sound effects.

Listening and adding text to my project.

Today in lesson I recapped importing sounds from Soundtrack Pro to Final Cut Pro by making a short text story.

LiveType

Playing around.

Getting the hang of it.

I now know what I am doing.

More fooling around.

What have I done.

Today in lesson I experimented in using LiveType to make title cards.

Hopefully I can put what I learnt into my future productions.

My media consumption

I have no loyalty to a single brand however i own more products of sony than of any other company.

This may be because I have owned a number of sony products in my life and I am confident

that I am buying something that will work with above average results, though i am aware

of other brands that make better products with possibly a lower price.