Second Film Opening Sequence

Second Practice 2 Minute Film Opening
We were assigned the task of creating another 2 minute film opening sequence to practise for our coursework. This task had to incorporate elements of mise-en-scène.

What is Mise-en-Scène?
Mise-en-Scène translates from French as 'putting on stage', and when referring to cinema, applies to everything in front of the camera and their arrangement - this includes props, lighting, actors, costume, location and set design. The incorporation of mise-en-scène helps create realism for the audience, and makes the footage believable. The elements can give context, for example they can imply where the film is set and during which era through costume etc. They can signify clear distinctions between things such as characters.

Our Mise-en-Scene elements
In class, we were given 5 different elements of mise-en-scene that we somehow had to incorporate into our film. We used these elements to develop a storyline from, these were the elements we were provided with and the benefits and disadvantages they brought us:

• Prop - a newspaper - This is a fairly basic prop, particularly to find in an office as paperwork is generally in an office and the newspaper would not look out of place. In regards to incorporating it with the cast, boys of that age would not show an interest in reading newspapers so it was interesting to think of ways to include it without it being read. A newspaper is really easy to get hold of, so obtaining this prop would prove no difficulty.
• Location - an office - An office was a fairly ordinary location, however it brought difficulty in finding where to film it because we couldn't get hold of any offices. This is because we had to film outside of school and therefore away from a professional environment in which an office would have been easily obtainable. Moreover, creating a correlation between the cast and the location was difficult because young children wouldn't be typically associated with a workplace environment like an office. On the contrary, the location was convenient in terms of lighting, as it is indoors and extraordinarily easy to include artificial lighting.
• Lighting - artificial and natural -  I was very pleased with this because both effects are easy to obtain and left an open range of methods to achieve this as opposed to a specific form of lighting such as a sunrise. On the other hand, having to include both would limit our ideas because if we only wanted one lighting effect to achieve a mood, we would still have to somehow incorporate the other.
• Costume - muddy hands - this was an interesting and original costume, but fairly simple to obtain. I like the fact that it was such an obscure element to the film but could bring so much to it. For example, if we wanted specific attire it wouldn't matter so long as we included muddy hands. Thinking of a situation in which muddy hands would apply effectively was difficult, but it linked well to the cast as boys are associated with adventure and getting muddy.
• Cast - two 7-11 year old boys - this was the most difficult element of mise-en-scene we were provided with as we not only did we have to find one child willing and talented enough to star in the film, we had to find two. Although the cast connected well with the other elements, we couldn't think of anyone to perform the role. However, involving young children in a plot allowed for imaginative ideas to be conceived, so devising a plot which included this cast was not difficult.

The image below shows the mise-en-scene elements we received:

Initial Plot Ideas
Looking at the elements of mise-en-scène, we came up with different genres in order to create a plot, as the genre will effect the mood of the film and therefore will need an appropriate plot to suit the mood. Our first interpretation of the mise-en-scene elements we received was to create a light-hearted film, perhaps a coming-of-age romance or a generic romantic comedy.

Romantic Comedy
An idea we thought of was using the boys as minor characters in order to bring two characters together. For example, an adult male character asked the two boys for help in order to get a girls attention, and the boys would conceive a mischievous plan in order to do this. As all the elements fitted hand in hand quite well, it would have been easy to justify why they were included. For example, the boys were playing in the park, being overseen by the male character. The boys gained muddy hands by playing around in the dirt, which is an insignificant part to the film opening but can show that the characters are adventurous. The man spots the girl on the bench on her phone - thus including the artificial light of the phone - and asks the boys to help get her attention. They find a newspaper and make paper airplanes to throw at the girl in order to get her attention and everything propels from there. The office could be included at the beginning and depict the man coming from work to meet the boys. We decided this plot wouldn't work because it's too much like a short film as opposed to an opening sequence.

Family film
Two boys are waiting in their mum's office for her to finish work. They're obviously bored and their mum is paying no attention to them. They find a newspaper on her desk and begin to make paper airplanes with it and throw it at their mum, but they stop when she scolds them. They constantly try to get her attention but she doesn't give it to them. They take their mum's potted plant and wipe the soil all over her office without her noticing. We didn't like this idea as it wasn't exciting enough to be engaging for the audience.

Another idea we came up with was two boys getting scolded in the principal's office for making a mess (hence the muddy hands). This idea wasn't in depth enough and we decided it wasn't very original or exciting.

Horror
The last idea we came up with was a man being in an office on his computer (artificial light), he then packs up to go home. Before he leaves the office, he picks up a newspaper that reads 'Two Boys Murdered' and throws it in the bin. The man goes to leave the office and tension begins to build before it become overwhelming with suspense due to tense music. At this point a man is going down the elevator, and the music cuts out when the music cuts out, making it anticlimactic. The elevator doors open revealing an empty corridor. The man leaves the building and when he gets outside he sees a child crying. The other child is then joined by his twin, who has a twisted smile on his face. The man asks if they're alright, but then he looks behind them (what's behind them isn't revealed) and looks frightened before starting to run away. The opening finishes with the man being dragged off. This idea was a little too chaotic - too much happened in the two minutes. However, we based our final idea on this.

We made a development to the previous concept: instead of the man being dragged off at the end, the children are instead introduced in the office. When the man goes to do things in his office, i.e. putting something away in a cupboard etc. the audience is made jump by the boys who appear suddenly behind him. The man doesn't see them, but he is clearly paranoid and can sense their presence, thus making it obvious to the audience that they are ghosts. This idea was a little too short and vague, the footage wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes.

Casting
In terms of casting the boys, it was extremely difficult to think of someone around that age who would be willing to perform in it.

My first idea to play one of the boys was my friend's 13 year old brother, who aspires to be an actor. Even though he doesn't fit the age of a 7-11 year old, he looks and sounds very young so therefore could act as a younger child. I questioned him if he was willing to be in it, and at first he was very eager. That was until I informed him that it is a horror and involves fake blood. He then refused as he is rather squeamish. He would have been an inconvenient choice anyway, as he lives 30 minutes away from where we would have filmed.

Our next idea was to use one of our group members 12/13 year old brother and his friend. They're only slightly out of the age bracket however they look much older than they actually are therefore wouldn't be an appropriate choice for the role

Our third idea regarding the boys casting was to use one of the group member's two cousins. They were both an appropriate age for casting and were convenient to use as they live in Wymondham, where we intended to film. Our group member messaged her aunt to ask for permission to use the boys in the piece and if they were willing to act. What she said is depicted in the picture below.

In terms of casting the adult male in the project, we had two ideas. The first was the person I had used in my previous project, as he was available and willing. The disadvantage of using him is that he would look too young to be working in the office, and make the film opening a little hard to believe. We could work around this by applying makeup to his face to make him look older, however when we attempted this in my previous project, it didn't show up well on camera. We would have to use very define lines on his face to have visible wrinkles, but there is a risk to this in the way that it could look fake and unbelievable. Another disadvantage to using him would be that the boys cast may feel uncomfortable acting with a stranger, so it would have been more convenient to use someone who is acquainted with the boys. Moreover, he lives 30 minutes away from the intended filming location, and would require travelling to be there.

The second choice we had was to use our group member's dad. This would mean the boys would be more comfortable acting in it as they are related to him and therefore know him well enough to be able to perform well. He was more than willing to help, and he was a convenient choice because he lives in an appropriate proximity of the filming location and therefore wouldn't have to travel far. He also looks an appropriate age to be working in an office, therefore was a believable choice.



Locations
Thinking of a location to film the office scenes in proved quite difficult, as we had no clue as to where we would obtain an office from. Our group member's mentioned that her dad (the one performing in the project) worked in an office block and that we may be able to film in one of these. This was convenient, as her dad would probably had to have been present in order to film there, but he was acting in the project so it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Moreover, an office block was the kind of office we had in mind when we were imagining our opening sequence and therefore would fit our image well. As we would have been present with the person who works in the office, we would have felt more comfortable filming there as its not an unfamiliar place to all of us. It would have had to be filmed in Norwich, which is 50 minutes away from me and would have been inconvenient to carry a tripod and camera on a bus to Norwich.

We did, however, had to come up with a back up location on the chance that the office was restricted from use. This was one of the school offices, which we would have had to film when we got back from half-term. This would have been inconvenient because it allowed less time to edit between filming and the deadline, but we had no choice to opt for this backup because there were little options. Moreover, we would have had to have gained permission from the school to allow our actors onto the premises, plus people may be working in the offices and therefore render it out of bounds. This would be a convenient location in terms of travel though, as we're all generally based around the school - obviously.

The last office location suggested was our group member's home office. This was our final backup plan as it didn't look professional enough to be assumed as a workplace environment on camera. Although, we could assemble a set up involving workplace themed props etc. to make it look more office looking.

As for the outside scenes, we instantly thought of using the Riverside car park in Norwich, which also featured an elevator appropriate for the elevator scene planned. This would have been awkward however because it would contain lots of people, as its a particularly busy area, who want to get past and therefore be in the footage, it also would be inconvenient for anyone who wishes to use the elevator.

Props
The prop we required for the film opening was a newspaper. There were many ways this could have been featured, for example one of the characters could have been briefly reading it and it would be an insignificant feature in the film. We decided to use this prop as a plot device by hinting to the audience as to who the two boys featured are at the end - the ghosts of the newspaper featured characters (Two Boys Murdered). This would therefore give a subtle hint to the audience, as well as actually play a role in the film as opposed to being a pointless feature. In order to create this custom newspaper, we decided to design a front page cover to the newspaper and then fold the front cover over a genuine newspaper to add depth and make it realistic as a newspaper.

Lighting
For the natural lighting, we just planned to film outside during the daytime. This will be neutral lighting which allows more variation in post production where we can create our own desired filter instead of adjusting it on set. As for the artificial, this light would come from inside, including the office ceiling lights as well as the glow of the computer screen. We decided that we don't want any lighting to be too intense, as we wanted to create an effect to suit the theme in post production on After Effects.

Filming Schedule
We checked with the actors and each other to come to the decision of filming on Monday 24th October, as this is the most convenient time. This is because some people have to travel to Wymondham via public transport, and the weekday public transport is much more flexible. Everybody was available this day. We're filming during the afternoon so we have plenty of time before it gets too dark to achieve non-grainy, visible footage. Moreover, filming in the morning was too early for the group members who had to travel, as they'd have to get up unnecessarily early.