Sherlock Holmes: Chess scene (My Filming Opening)
This film is about Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Watson, joining forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty. The genre of the film is action, adventure and crime put together. However, In this particular scene we have two detectives playing chess which links to our idea.
In this scene the two detectives are playing chess to figure out who the antagonist is however the use of sound is effective. For instance, the use of sound effects when the chess piece is being banged onto the chess board is effective because it draws the audience into the game and what chess piece is being moved. It also shows the importance of the game being played, then the scene changes to various camera shots, such as medium shots, of a large number of people in the hall. The sound effect of the chess pieces still carries on when one of the detectives drags the piece on the board. This is effective because it shows a link between the people in the hall and the game being played by the detectives. Also the use of non-digenetic sound is effective while the conversation between the two detectives is happening. The pace of the violin is slow however as one of the detectives say "you caught me Dr Watson", the pace of violin goes faster which is effective as the atmosphere suddenly becomes more tense which helps the audiences become more engaged with the scene. Also the dialogue used is very effective because “Dr” sounds very professional like someone of a high class and someone that sounds respected. Also we as the audience can see that this particular characters is very educated.
There are different examples of mise en scene in this scene. For instance, the use of the lighting such as chiaroscuro when the two characters are playing chess. The shadows create suspense and mystery; the suspense that we get out of this is effective because as the characters are playing chess we seem to feel a sense of competition. We also feel a connection to the game they are playing. Another use of mise en scene is costume; this was effective because all the characters in the scene are wearing old fashioned clothing. We can tell this by the women's clothing, the big dresses and the men wearing wigs and suits. Also the costumes that all the characters are wearing, for instance when the characters are in the hall, we can see how sophisticated and formal they are. As the women are wearing dresses and the men are all wearing suit, this then means we as the audience can see that it is a high class event.
There are many examples of editing in this scene. For instance, cutting: shot/reverse shot; this was used when the two detectives were playing chess. The camera was focusing on one detective with the shot changing to the other detective as they were having a conversation about the game. The use of this was successful as it showed the audience both reactions to the game and the emotions of each of the characters. Also another use of cutting was used; cross cutting from the scene when the two detectives were playing chess to the crowd in the hall. This use of cross cutting was effective because it showed the link between the two scenes showing the relations to the audience.
There are many examples of camera techniques used during this sequel. The use of extreme close up on the chess piece was effective because it showed the audience the importance of the pieces they are playing. It also draws the audience into the game more and makes them feel like they are playing the game. Also during this extreme close up we see the use of depth of field, for instance the focus pull into the chess pieces, this was effective because it moved the attention from the game to the chess piece.
Also the use camera movement, pan, was used. High angle was used on the two characters, the women and the man in the hall is effective because although it makes the characters look powerless it also shows to the audience that they are from a lower class than the detectives that are playing chess.
From looking at the film opening
In this scene the two detectives are playing chess to figure out who the antagonist is however the use of sound is effective. For instance, the use of sound effects when the chess piece is being banged onto the chess board is effective because it draws the audience into the game and what chess piece is being moved. It also shows the importance of the game being played, then the scene changes to various camera shots, such as medium shots, of a large number of people in the hall. The sound effect of the chess pieces still carries on when one of the detectives drags the piece on the board. This is effective because it shows a link between the people in the hall and the game being played by the detectives. Also the use of non-digenetic sound is effective while the conversation between the two detectives is happening. The pace of the violin is slow however as one of the detectives say "you caught me Dr Watson", the pace of violin goes faster which is effective as the atmosphere suddenly becomes more tense which helps the audiences become more engaged with the scene. Also the dialogue used is very effective because “Dr” sounds very professional like someone of a high class and someone that sounds respected. Also we as the audience can see that this particular characters is very educated.
There are different examples of mise en scene in this scene. For instance, the use of the lighting such as chiaroscuro when the two characters are playing chess. The shadows create suspense and mystery; the suspense that we get out of this is effective because as the characters are playing chess we seem to feel a sense of competition. We also feel a connection to the game they are playing. Another use of mise en scene is costume; this was effective because all the characters in the scene are wearing old fashioned clothing. We can tell this by the women's clothing, the big dresses and the men wearing wigs and suits. Also the costumes that all the characters are wearing, for instance when the characters are in the hall, we can see how sophisticated and formal they are. As the women are wearing dresses and the men are all wearing suit, this then means we as the audience can see that it is a high class event.
There are many examples of editing in this scene. For instance, cutting: shot/reverse shot; this was used when the two detectives were playing chess. The camera was focusing on one detective with the shot changing to the other detective as they were having a conversation about the game. The use of this was successful as it showed the audience both reactions to the game and the emotions of each of the characters. Also another use of cutting was used; cross cutting from the scene when the two detectives were playing chess to the crowd in the hall. This use of cross cutting was effective because it showed the link between the two scenes showing the relations to the audience.
There are many examples of camera techniques used during this sequel. The use of extreme close up on the chess piece was effective because it showed the audience the importance of the pieces they are playing. It also draws the audience into the game more and makes them feel like they are playing the game. Also during this extreme close up we see the use of depth of field, for instance the focus pull into the chess pieces, this was effective because it moved the attention from the game to the chess piece.
Also the use camera movement, pan, was used. High angle was used on the two characters, the women and the man in the hall is effective because although it makes the characters look powerless it also shows to the audience that they are from a lower class than the detectives that are playing chess.
From looking at the film opening
Twlight
Goodfellas -Jordan's Film opening
In the opening sequence to 'Goodfellas' we get a tracking from behind shot of a car from the 1970's. This is used to tell the audience when the film was set. However we don't get an establishing shot (for the first thing we see) other than them being on a highway in the middle of night which suggest that they are going to cause trouble. establishing shots are great ways of telling the audience straight away where and when they are. The director add in a caption to tell us that we are in the 1970 and that they are in New York which we wouldn't know if the director did not add this in. We next get a medium shot of three guys. Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta), Jimmy Conway (played by Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (played by Joe Pesci). Henry Hill is the main character and is the "wanna be gangster". We see these three characters casually driving with in even Jimmy Conway having a nap. This is used to show how casual these characters are and also to show the audience how normal this would be in 1970. We next hear banging coming from the trunk of the car and they characters seem to be very surprised to hear this banging, because they thought they had killed the man in the trunk. They then pull over and we get our first (proper) establishing shot. We get a long-shot of the characters walking around the car with one holding a shovel and one soon to pull out a huge knife. Henry opens the trunk with caution and we see a half dead guy covered in blood and rapped up in a white blanket which suggest that this whole time they were on their way to digging a grave for him. The fact that the man in the trunk is begging for them not to kill him but they brutally take his life suggest that these guys are the bad guys (antagonists) and maybe the guy in the trunk was a good guy (protagonist). Henry does not touch the man in the trunk which could suggest that he is the leader because the "big cheese" never gets his hands dirty. On the other hand it could suggest that he is at the bottom of the hierarchy and he doesn't have a chose in what he does in this scene.This establishing shot in this scene is a great way of showing the audience where they are which is in the woods. The audience knows this because they can hear crickets and can see lots of trees in the background. This is a typical place for a crime film to be set because all crime films have some sort of dilemma which leads to someone getting killed either by accident or on purpose which means the person that kills them ends up going to a remote area in attempts to hide the body and to not get caught in the long run by the police or the protagonist. Also during this scene the director uses a zoom in shot on the trunk to build anticipation and build tension because at this point we do not know what or who is in the boot. It could be a wild animal up until this point. This is a great way of hooking the audience into the film within the firs couple of minutes of the film. This film is on a true story and is about gangsters and crime. This is why it links with our film opening sequence because we want to base this sequence on the genre crime.
American Gangster- Kiesoth Film opening
We are introduced to the sub antagonist of the film through the extreme close ups used right at the start of the opening scene. The reason why i have suggested this is because right after the extreme shot it then rotates to a two shot where we see a mysterious figure right close to the sub antagonist where half of his face is covered with the shadow so it gives us the impression that there is more bait to catch in the river then there is. This is because in the opening scene we as audience feel intimidated of what the sub antagonist is doing to the man, we also see in the two shot that the mysterious figure has no say or do he still has that element of power because of the way he's positioned to the man as if he's one of his puppet strings at that there is more to what we can see. There is no mercy shown to man as if they do this regularly and this fits the crime genre because majority of the opening scenes leave us hanging with cold blooded murder leading us as an audience to find out why this happens during through the progression of the film. edit.
American Hustle
In the opening of this film we audience didn't expect a very chilled and quiet start of the film as it really tested the audiences patient. This opening scene felt so much contrasting to the others because it was really quiet and relaxed however the crime elements used at the start of the film opening scene were present but it was hard for the audience to identify because right of the start of the opening scene the audience already had the lost the attention because it felt like there wasn't a motive for the audience to the possible reasons why this or that didn't happen. When we see the possible antagonist wearing fake hair we immediately know that there is an distinct representation of crime genre, because we audience already know that this is a stereotype for crime and there is more likely going to be something bad in the nearby progression of the film. We are properly introduced by the antagonist through all the possible camera angles and shots. So we can see the antagonist in all views, this was really good because the director gave us a free feel of the villainous antagonist at the opening scene. We as the audience didn't expect this film to do something like this especially someone who watched a lot of crime films because usually what would normally happen is we aren't properly introduced by the villainous antagonist later into the film, however the director chose to do something different but in the characters perspective.
The Departed Opening
In the Departed there is a title saying Boston 3 years ago so we obviously know there is going to be a parallel cross-cutting. This is really important because we want to know what happened to then and now how it links to this film. Usually this happens a lot in crime films where they get real life history events and link to the films story and the audience wants to know whether its reasonable and gives the audience some knowledge about the progression of the film. This fits the crime genre because as again the villainous antagonist is showed with some respect when the shopkeeper keeps his arms behind his back to show the power and the authority is going to all to the villain, the steady tone of the elderly man voice show also symbolises that he's really smart thoughtful and confident. There was really point of view shot used when he was walking into the shop because the director wants to show us what its like when he walks around the streets of his home town and the respect that is shown to him. There is a follow up of an over shoulder shot and other shots to show the positioning of the uncomfortable characters. Through the course of the opening scene we as the audience are able to link the historical events and the villains actions because we kind of get the feeling of what the aftermath of the historical event had to done to the villain and therefore a progression of power is shown by the villain when he walks into the shops. Crime genres like to link to events together and see what has happened in a result of this and this usually happens to the villainous characters so the director can tell us that there is a motive for the villain to do something so he succeed on whatever he needs to do.