Inspiration For My Opening Credits

Inspiration for my piece

The girl with the dragon tattoo was inspiring because of the visual element of this film opening credits. The genre of the film won't be relevant to my piece because it is quite a dark film and this not  the genre of the film that I will make. 

Casino Royale was another opening credits that I will use for inspiration because of the way that one shot flows into another and the overall presentation. The opening credits are always a feature of a James Bond film and have become iconic over the time that the films have been produced. The opening credits gets the viewer ready for the film and that action that coming later in to the film. The credits also tie into the name of the film with all the "casino" theme things appearing in the opening credits.

The above will inspire me for a animated part of my opening credits but for the real life footage I have been inspired by:

This sequence from fast five will inspire me for my chasing scenes. As it is fast paced and clever which is something that I want to recreate in my opening sequence.

Green screen practice

Related to my idea I wanted to make a title sequence like the James Bond franchise. I was unsure on how this would work and how it would look so I decided to make a test. I was restricted on time which limited the results but it gave me an idea of what i could produce should I choose to do this.

I think that from the test footage then I will decide not to this because I don't think that I could make it to a high enough standard where it would be really effective. This is something that I may consider doing if was to make the film again

My Idea

In my opening credits I will start with a man running from a long distance it will be a long shot. I will use selective focus while he coming closer into shot this will give a feel for the distance that he is running from. There will be some credits as the man is running down the road but not the name of the film that is to come later. As he is running down the road towards the camera there will be several flashbacks with action showing why the man is running. As the man reaches the camera he will stop to catch his breath as he thinks he has got away from the other man this will be a mid shot or a close up to show a sense of relief on his face he will then head past the camera and there will be a gunshot although the viewer will not see the gun being fired. Then the camera will pan to a high angle shot of the body on the floor and the man who chasing the man who was running will enter the shot and will check he is dead then there will the a close up of his face that will change to a silhouette and there will be some use of animation for the titles. The first man running is in fact the bad guy and the person chasing him is a good guy and is a secret agent. I will make sure the viewer knows this by using costume properly. Also there will be some fast paced music to add pace to the scenes

Possible Distributors for my film

There are a number of leading distributors for film they include:

• Walt Disney
• Warner Bros
• Sony Pictures
• 20th Century Fox
• Universal
• Paramount Pictures
• MGM

Walt Disney would not be a suitable distributor because they mainly make animated films and children's film which my film will be neither. Warner bros make a lot of comic book films and I don't think it would be suitable for my film because my film doesn't fit there sub genre of film. Sony Pictures could be a possible distributor because they do make action film but they have not made classic spy film in a long time so I will not use them as my distributor. 20th Century Fox's biggest recent hits are both superhero films but my film wont be a superhero film which shows that I shouldn't use them as a distributor because when people see a 20th century fox logo they may assume its a superhero film. Universal films made the Jason Bourne series which were very successful spy films so they could be potential distributor because they have history with the genre and have had success also. Paramount pictures don't make as many action films although they do the Mission Impossible series they mainly make comedies. MGM make the James Bond series which are the most successful series of spy films which is why I will choose MGM as the distributor to my films because the brand has  reputation and will encourage people to watch the film.

Genre Research

An action film is a film where an individual or group faces a challenge. They usually include fighting, chase scenes and life threatening situations and an evil villain.

There are a number of sub genres for the large genre of action. These are some examples:

• Action adventure
• Action comedy
• Action horror
• Buddy cop
• Disaster film
• Martial arts
• Sci-fi action
• Spy film
• Action thriller
• Superhero film

There are a number of actors associated with the action genre. In the 50s and 60s John Wayne and Steve Mcqueen were the main actors and in the 70s the Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Clint Eastwood were the most popular. In the 80s Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were popular. Other actors such as Jackie Chan and Vin Diesel became very popular.

These actors and others starred in the most popular action films such as:

• The Dark Knight (2008)
• Taken (2008)
• Aliens (1986)
• Die Hard (1988)
• Predator (1987)
• The Matrix (1999)
• 300 (2006)
• The Fast and Furious series
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• The Great Escape (1963)
• Speed (1994)
• Goldfinger (1964)

Superhero films are now popular in modern day due to the advance in technology and change in trends. Spy films are also very popular with some video game based action films being made.

Similar films and influences:

The James Bond series is similar to what I am trying to produce and is a key influence for my film. The series has a number of unique qualities that make it successful that have influenced me into choosing an action film. The series has a variety of setting based all around the world in rural and city areas which enhances the film because it provides a unique scenario to each action sequence. The series has a theme song for each film which is like many film but the song is then combined with animated opening credits which are unique for every film. This has been an influence because every time I have seen a James Bond film I have been looking forward to the opening credits of the film.

Also another influence was the film Speed this film was an influence because of the action in the film and the storyline and I will try and replicate this in my film.

Mood Board

shot list and script

First shot list

My script