First Blog - Looking for inspiration

Since we decided that we were going to do a film intro I started to think about directors that i like to decide on the style of the piece that I wanted our group to pursue.



These are some of the film intro's that i watched to try and decide what type of intro I wanted to go for:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyR4RK0LA_E

This is the opening for Quentin Tarantino's film Resevoir Dogs. In my opinion this is a very well written and directed film and this includes the introduction. I really like the way the in which the camera circles around the outside of the group giving the impression of looking in from the outside. This also gives the viewer the impression that the group of men is a select group; they have something that you don't. Also, the way in which you find out about each character just from the seemingly meaningless dialogue is really well done. The stylalized way in which the characters walk out of the restraunt is also a really powerful image. I may look into trying to do something like this in our film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koP4O6QAzx4

In comparion to the opening scene of Resevoir Dogs, the opening scene to Trainspotting by Danny Boyle gives the viewer incredible amounts of information about the main character of Renton. This opening has also highlighted to me the importance of choosing the right music for our piece as it really sets the tone for the piece. I also really like the way in which the sets tell you about the type of lives the characters are live and the way in which each characters name comes up in a freeze frame type of style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIZxMjWf1sQ&feature=related

RocknRolla is arguably one of Guy Ritchie's lesser known British Gangster films as most people see Snatch as his best work. But in many ways i prefer this opening scene to the one in Snatch as i think the commentary as the shot gradually moves closer and closer to the slow moving character. I think that is really effective opening as the unerlying song adds to the suspense and really kicks in when the final line is spoken. Also, i like the way as the camera moves closer you see more and more of the character as the lighting then increases before you see a series of quick shots revealing to the viewer exactly what a 'RocknRolla' is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoNATPsOsZk

City Of God is certainly the least well known film out of these four but in many ways i think it is equally as good if not better. The opening sequnce is a personal favourite as i really like the way in which it starts of with the split second shots of the knife being sharpened and grows and grows with the music building as more action takes place. I also thing the way in which the camera shots keep changing angles and hights is really effective to as it gives the viewer a sense of the fast paced life in the slums. At the end of this clip there is a really powerful image of the gang all together in a stand of with the police. In my opinion this is a really good opening as the way in which the camera rotates around the lead character, Rocket, whilst flashing back to the past is really effective link to where the story begins.

From watching these opening sequnces i have gotten some really good ideas that i would like to see if i can do but i do have to be careful not to simply copy the style of these films but to incorporate different aspects of each. It has taught me that i need to consider the music and the camera angles i use in great detail as they have as big an effect on the film as the script or acting does.


Jim Lewis