Remake of a Film Opening

Introduction

For this task, we were asked to remake the opening of a film of our choice. In my team was Vicky Rose and Jack Thornton and together we decided to remake the opening of the movie 'Reservoir Dogs' which was created in 1992 and was directed by Quentin Tarantino. We chose this opening because it seemed basic and easy to film as some of the other openings that we looked at had a lot of special effects and we hadn't got the right programs or knowledge to recreate what was going on. Other openings that we looked at were films like, Juno, Saturday Night Fever and She's the Man. After discussing which one to do, we decided that it would be the easiest to do as the camera angles were simple and  the duration of the film wasn't that long so it wouldn't take too long to edit.

Analyzing

Timings

When we were analyzing the opening we first decided to see what we would need to use when filming. These were things like how many actors we would need, if they had any props and if there was a certain dress code they were wearing. We also tried to fit the location right so it would somehow resemble the same as the film. Also we noted when each frame changed, what was in the frame and how long it lasted for. We found this hard to do on the website, www.artofthetitle.com as it didn't give the seconds that it was playing so we found the opening clip on youtube which was much easier as it helped us note the time of when each camera changed. When each screen shot changed, we noted the time it changed and what was going on. So for example when an actor appeared on screen, we would note down the time the appeared, the camera angle and the actors who appeared. We did this so it would be easier for us when we came to do the editing and directing so we knew how long each scene lasted for and which actor was doing what in their close ups.

Titles and Camera Angles

After we did this for the 13 fames that changed, we went back to the beginning of the clip and looked at all the different titles that came up and wrote out in order which titles came up and what they said. We only made one small spelling mistake and corrected it quickly before compressing the file. After we wrote all of these out we all discussed which camera angle was where and how they joined on to each other, for example if one scene dissolved to the next we would note it down and also when noting the camera angle we would link it to the scene to make it easier for us to direct and edit. Most of the close ups we had were to be cut when changing the scene but when we were editing, we noticed the difference it made when we added the Addictive Dissolve and decided to do that for all the close ups as the effect made a better difference than the basic cut.

Actions, Positions and Actors

To make sure we had the correct actions, we made a script of timings and positions for the actors we found. This was challenging as we had to find eight male actors who had free periods, as we were filming the scenes during our media lessons which was during other peoples lessons. When we found the right amount of actors, we gave them the correct props and found that some actors resembled the characters in the film. This is when we decided to cast them due to their resemblence to the actors in the film. Also they brought in the right clothes to wear if they were wearing something other than a suit. When we were looking at the close ups, we all decided that we should have the same actors in the shot as there is on the opening so we wrote down the positions which the characters were walking in. We did this by going on to wikipedia to find the positions easier after it taking so long to figure out when watching the close ups. We figured out who was where in the first scene and the times they appeared or had an action. We also did this for the Alleyway scene when they walk with a sideways profile and then did it again for the positions for when they are walking towards the camera and each one has a close up and then kept the same positions for when they're walking away as the title rolls up. When we noted the actions of the close ups, we wrote which character had which props and how long their scene lasted. Also we added which direction they were looking in and if they had any actions like putting sunglasses on or smoking a cigarette. As each close up  lasted for 4 seconds in slow motion, we had to make sure the characters did the actions in half the time so we could fit it in the scene to slow it down and still get the actions. For some actors, we found this took a couple of takes as when filming, they would make the movement while being too close to the camera or that the movement didn't look right at all.

Storyboard and Shotlist

While me and Vicky were noting the positions and actions, Jack took charge of creating a Storyboard. To do this he drew in the six boxes provided, where the actors would be from the cameras prospective. As this was a rough drawing, he decided to draw it simply by using detailed stickmen. Along with Vicky, they both created a shotlist using _____ this is where they took screen shots of each scene change in the opening scenes. This proved easier than the storyboard as it was quick and easy and you were able to detail each screen shot with what camera angle was used, who was in the shot and which scene it was.

Filming

PreparationBefore starting the filming, each person in our groups were given a specific role to make things easier on us. Jack took a role as one of the actors as we couldn't find the right amount of volunteers, Vicky took the role of filming with the camcorder and I took the role of directing the cast with their positions and timings. With our roles set we found our locations for each scene that sort of resembled the scenary in the opening without leaving school grounds. For the first scene in the restaurant, we chose to film in our school cafeteria and set the tables and chairs to match the ones in the film. We then chose to do the alleyway scene behind our Sports Hall which was good for our cast as this area is usually empty and we wouldn't be getting disturbed or have people get in the way of our shots. We used this location for the close ups and the last scene as it made sense that it was outside and we wouldn't be getting disturbed. We were then given our HD camcorder and sent off to film our scenes. 

Summery of Filming
Whilst filming each scene I noticed how important it was to plan everything before we got started filming. For example the we only had a couple of lessons to film and edit so to get the time scaled right, we had to make sure we were professional about the whole thing and not goof around. We also decided that since everyone was wearing the same clothes in the opening, we needed to get the same actors to wear the same outfits for each scene they were in. We found this easiest to just film all the scene on the first lesson and then edit it in the next couple we had. As we found that not everything would go how we planned, we needed to be patient to give enough time to re-correct it or wait until it smoothed out. This was mainly an issue with the weather and the people around us although we were quite lucky with having a nice bit of weather after it all cleared up.

 

Editing

Setting up a Project and Importing and Exporting Files

When editing our opening scenes, we used a program called Adobe Premiere Pro. This program is designed to edit and create movie clips, it is very straight forward after you know the basic tools and features of this program. Since we had already had experience with the program by creating our 'City Scape Film Openings' we were already familiar with most of the features. Since we were also remaking an film opening, we had a template to go by as we had the clip in the background. This made it easier for us to get the right timings and helped us to find out when each scene faded out. The first thing we did after we connected our camcorder to the computer was to import the recordings we had made onto the computer. We did this by using ____ to cut where necessary to make all files shorter to make it easier to edit our work. we then had to import the files into our document so we could edit them.

 Cutting clips, Unlinking Sound and Changing Speeds

When we were editing, we found that there were certain parts of the clips that we didn't need. To shorten the scenes, we used a tool called 'cut'. This allowed us to cut the clip into a two sections and remove the part we didn't want. As there was no speech or sound, other than the voice over or the music, we had to unlink the sound we recorded whilst filming the scenes. We did this by right clicking on the clip, and going down to the feature 'Unlink Sound'. This feature let us remove the sound from the clip allowing us to delete or move the sound. Since in the film, the characters all moved in slow motion, we had to change the speed of them moving, we did this much like how we unlinked the sound, but we instead of going to 'Unlink Sound' we went to the feature 'Speed/Duration'. This feature allowed us to speed up the scene or slow it down and since the characters in the movie had an action, we had to slow down the scene but still showing the actors actions. This proved to be easier than it started off to be.

Scaling and Resizing Clips and Titles and Fonts

As some of the clips appeared to be too small for the screen, we had to make sure that each scene was the same height and width. To change the size of the clip, we went to 'Window;Effects Control;Motion Control' so we could resize and move the scene to anywhere in the frame. We found this an important tool when we were comparing the two openings and realised we had to crop some of the scene out of the frame to make it appear the same. When we looked at adding in the titles, we had to make sure that the size and colour of the fonts were somewhat the same otherwise the same effect wouldn't have been given. Luckily the font used in the film was identical to one we had on the program and all we needed to do was get them the same colour and title and move them to the right positions. 

Voice Over and Music

Whilst Jack and Vicky were inserting the titles, we decided that we should add in the voice over to really make it our opening. So I recorded one of our music teachers repeating the script which we had gotten from the film, into a microphone. We used professional equipment and software to do this using a program called Synergy Radio Broadcasting and we used a radio system to record and save the file onto a memory stick. We then listened into the original voiceover and heard that we needed to slow down the voice over as he was speaking to fast for the opening. We only adjusted it slightly so his voice didn't muffle or change. 

Final Piece

I am pleased with how our opening turned out as it proves to be very identical to the original opening which gives the feel that it was done professionally. I learnt a lot from this task as it taught me how to film, direct and edit correctly and I also became more familiar with the program Premiere Pro and feel more confident when using it. I had also learnt a lot of techniques and found the importance of planning things out before rushing into a project. Doing this task will help me in future projects and tasks as it was a good experience and I had enjoyed making and producing this piece. Below is the two separate openings and the comparison.