Opening Sequence Initial Ideas
- 1. Polina Zalevskaya AS Media Studies Final film opening sequence ideas
- 2. After discussion with my partner in media studies course, we decided that we should do an opening sequence for a film idea called “Last Masterpiece”. It is about a girl, an artist that vanishes leaving behind her artwork, journals and a critical masterpiece. The detective who got assigned the case gets charmed by her writings and her work as he works to uncover the case. Weeks go by, him reading and discovering more of her letters, messages, diving deeper into her character and getting obsessed with the idea of her. The film ends on a sad note as he finally succeeds to find her, but chooses to respect her wish to remain hidden and lets her go.
- 3. 1. Manuela is in her studio, working on her masterpiece. Her movements and brush strokes are very passionate and expressive. The objects around her (brushes, palettes, cans with paint, journals, wine, books, folders etc.) are shown in close ups which indicate her chaotic, artistic personality. Pros easy to film location is available props are easily obtained only one actor required. Cons Possibly not captivating enough
- 4. 2. Starts with a tracking shot of a woman walking hastily through the company, carrying a file of papers. The workplace is very busy and loud. She enters an office where the detective is sitting, drinking his morning coffee. He gets flustered by her sudden intrusion. She flops the file on the desk in front of him and informs him of the emergency. After she leaves, he puts his cup of coffee down and thoroughly inspects the paper. He is shown flipping through the pages. There is a zoom in of her picture from the file and the screen goes black. Pros Easy to film in terms of camera work and props. Cons: There is no intrigue, which means that audience might not have the interest in continuing watching the film.
- 5. 3. The opening sequence starts with scenes of a man/preparing breakfast. Bread from a toaster pops up, he pours milk, gets a box of cereal from a cupboard sits down and yells out “Manny, you coming down to have breakfast or not?” After a moment of silence, he gets irritated, gets up and starts going upstairs. A tracking shot of him going up the stairs, murmuring random things expressing his annoyance. When he comes to the studio, he sees that the studio is empty. After he tries calling her phone, he dials all of her friends. As nobody knows where she is, he decides to call the cops. Pros: Easy to find location Easy to film, in the meaning of camera angles and movements. Audience will be left intrigued. Cons: Requires a male actor.
- 6. 4. First shot is a tracking shot of a car from which few friends get out and go into the building and have a conversation about an important exhibition that is about to take place. Next is the shot of the reporter saying how the audience can not wait for Manuela to reveal her artwork that she has been working on for the last few months. There is a stage with a microphone on it that stays empty until a man shows up and says that exhibition has to be canceled because Manuela can not be there right now. Pros: A fast-pace opening sequence which indicates the tempo of a whole movie. The ending is intriguing which will result in the audience wanting to continue watching. Cons: A lot of additional actors will be needed. Difficulties with finding and filming in the desired locations. May be hard to film the sequence, in the terms of camera work.
- 7. 5. An arial shot of the bus stop which transitions to a medium close up of Manuela. Then a bus arrives, and she gets on, carrying her luggage. She sits down and puts in earphones. Shots of the places she is passing by are shown. Her tranquility is interrupted by an elderly woman sitting next to her, asking where she is going to go. She takes out her earphone and says how she is yet to decide. It finishes with a bus driving away. Pros Easy to find location and obtain props. Cons There is no intrigue, which means that audience might not have the interest in continuing watching the fil.