Location.
For our sequence we had many ideas as to where we were going to base it. We then came to the decision of basing the majority of the film in a bar. Then outside the bar we are thinking of using mysterious types of places such as alleyways and dark corners. The pictures below show some sorts of ideas as to what we mean.

The Pitch.
For our pitch we gave a 5-10minute presentation off powerpoint explaining and showing the rest of our group what our opening sequence was about and what ideas we had for it. The powerpoint included the following.
1. Film ideas
2. What the films about
3. Costume/prop ideas
4. Story and mood board
5. Conventions of a crime film
6. Genre
7. How to develop and challenge the conventions.

After we did this we got feedback from every other group with two things they liked about our film and one thing we could improve on. Most people said that our ideas were different and imaginative however we could improve by organising the presentation a bit better. The constructive criticism worked well as it will help us to improve and achieve the best we can.

Prop Ideas.
Most of the props we need for our opening sequence are props relating to death. Things such as knifes and guns are all weapons which could possibly be used. However the red lipstick would be for the femme fetale. Not only would it be a prop to suit her character but the red also symbolises danger and death. Then finally we have the poison which we believe will be used by one of the suspects as they are planning to kill the detective.

Costume Ideas.
For our film noir we have a wide range of thoughts and ideas as to what sort of costume our actors are going to be wearing. As it was set in the 1940's we understand that costume is vital in order for our film to work successfully. Below are some images of our ideas for our film.

Script.
Throughout our intire script the dialogue only consists of our main character narrating all the way through our opening sequence. He is telling the audience his story aswell as describing the other characters.We felt this would be a more effective way of letting the audience know what sort of character he is, if it's making them feel sympathy for him or the complete opposite it still brings a more personal relationship between the audience and characters.
As we decided to base our theme as film noir our main speaker also tends to talk in riddles. Given this we thought it would make the audience more kean to watch more as the dialogue will be as complicated as it can be leaving the audience guessing.

Script
Eddie Gum: There are many reasons as to why im lieng here now (pause) some Im aware of.
 It all began five weeks back, the seventh of november 1945.
And now I will tell you my story and how it came to an end.
The city has many faces. A close source of mine brought me here to suss out some dodgy deals.
They were closer to me than i'd imagined.
It was those words she spoke so softly that lured me into this mess.
Only time will tell who it is I can trust around these towns.
 How many things this sky has seen is beyond me.
A voice of an angel was pulling me over (pause) but I will not be fooled again.
 I thought I could trust her but the other one with those red lips (pause) she was dangerous.
She held many secrets of her own but some girls you can't help but fall for they just lure you in and you know instantly, your a dead man.
I was in too deep, thought I got the better of them seems that the tables had already turned. Who was I to trust? (pause) the people who I trusted were they on my side?
But Im getting ahead of myself (pause) let me start again.

Storyboard.
For part of our task to become complete we had to produce a story board which contained every single shot during our sequence. We have used a variety of shots including extreme close up's, medium close up's, over the head shots and so on.
Doing this gave us a positive over view of what we were planning to achieve from our sequence.

1. The first image on our story board is showing the close up of the detectives eyes as the camera slowly zooms out.
2. The next drawing shows a wide shot of the detective lying down dead as the camera slowly fades into another shot.
3. We then have a shot of the detective walking into the bar where we then meet the two other characters.
4.The next shot shows the man in the bar where he's about to meet one of the female characters.
5. Shot 5 shows the two characters meeting in the bar as the detective tries to sweet talk the waitress.
6.We now have the shot of the singer in the bar as the detective lays eyes on her.
7. A foot shot of the singer slowly rising up to her face.
8. A wide shot of the singer and the crowd below her.
9. A close up of the detectives face.
10. The detective sitting at the bar whilst the waitess is behind the bar working.
11. A quick shot of the waitress polishing a knife while her eyes are sharply set on the detective.
12. The detective and waitress walking out together and the singer watches from behind.

Audience research results from survey. 
For our exam piece to be successful and to be enjoyed by an audience we all had to take part in a survey gathering results which would help us to make improvements to our opening sequence. Each group made ten or more of their own questions. Ours were:

•  Are you male or female?
• What is your age?
• What's your favourite genre?
• How often do you visit the cinema?
• How much are you willing to pay at the cinema?
• What ways do you best enjoy watching a film?
• Would the film put you off if it was over 2 hours long?
• Would it put you off a film if it was in black and white?
• What day do you prefer going to the cinema?
• Do you prefer watching more modern or old films?

All the questions we asked had multiple choice answers so the student had a range of answers to choose from. 
Overall we found that the majority of people only visited the cinema once a month, the average age was around 16 and £6.00 was the average amount they were willing to pay. Most people either enjoyed going to the cinema to watch a film or to go online. They would not be put off if a film was over 2 hours long and most people said a film in black and white wouldnt put them off watching it either. Friday nights was the prefered day and time to go to the cinema and we found that the majority prefered to watch more modern films.

Mood Board.

As our opening sequence is a film noir all of our images were produced in black and white. We also decided to make all our images relevant to our sequence. For example, the image of an alleyway was used on our mood board and an alley way is one of our main locations throughout our sequence. The mood board has helped so far as a easy way to link things back to our work making sure all our ideas have been used successfully. 

Analysis of a title sequence.
For the analysis of a title sequence I chose to create a spider diagram and list off all the purposes of having a title/opening sequence. They were:
1. Cast and crew
2. Establish genre
3. Quality
4. Setting the story line
5. Time/period
6. Makes the audience interested
7. Gives the film a different structure
8. Plot
9. Characters
10. Raise interest-enigma.
Hopefully all the above will be achieved whilst making our opening sequence as I feel that all points from above would create a very successful title sequence.

Conventions of a crime genre.
Our next task, dealt with looking at the conventions of a crime genre. This could come in handy during our exam so we know what types of things to include in our opening sequence.
We were shown a number of images and video clips which were in relation to crime films. One of these was a James Bond opening sequence. The majority of the sequence consisted of gambling cards making the genre clear for us. We found that the cards could of  represented guns and violence and we also figured out that the different colours of the cards, could of represented the different types of people in the film.


From all the images and clips we'd seen we had come to the conclusion that all crime films include weapons such as guns and knifes. They all contain some sort of violence and fighting scenes. The majority of crime films also included a strong female character such as a fem fatal. 

Above is a video if a typical crime video which meets all the criteria and demands of a crime video. It also includes all the main features I have already dicussed.

Preliminary Task.
The first task we were set was the Prelim task. For this we had to get into the same groups for our final exam and do a brief bit of filming showing the examiner how we can use the camera properly. For ours we acted out a parents evening. In this we included the three basic rules:

1. 180 degree rule - A cut which splices together shots (two) making it seem to continue uninterrupted. 

2. Shot reverse shot - Two or more shots edited together that alternate characters typically in a conversation situation. It is vital that the eye line must match.

3. Match on action - Two characters in the same scene must always have the same left/right relationship to each other. They should never cross the line.

If we were to do this task again I think the three things we could improve are:

1. More shot reverse shot

2. Edits that flow into each other a bit more

3. Faster shots

Overall i felt the three of us worked well to make our prelim task successful. I felt the majority of the camera shots worked well in particular the over the head shots and the and shot reverse shots. I felt we understood what was expected from the preliminary task and worked well as a group to do this.

Ellie Helena Emma Prelim