The Punisher opening titles (2004)

At the beginning it is clear it is a "Marvel" film as it is stated first thing at the beginning then Lions Gate Entertainment which is in smaller writing but is at the beginning suggesting it is well known. Again "Marvel" is mentioned. All the writing is quite small making the graphics stand out. There are many co-production companies announced in the middle suggesting they arn't that important. About 10 seconds from the end the title is shown "THE PUNISHER" and then the film starts. There is not mention of cast or directors.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Opening Title Sequence - David Fincher M...

There are two main production companies which are shown at the beginning. This suggests that they are important production company in the making towards the movie.
Next is "the DAVID FINCHER film" who is then mentioned again at the end as he is the Director! As this is named it suggests that he is well known otherwise they wouldn't write it. After this is the main actor DAVID CRAIG and then ROONEY MARA. After this is the title THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO suggesting that these two actors mentioned before are going to be very important.
Then comes all the other actors such as:

• Christopher plummer
• Stella Skarsgard
• Steven Berkoff
• Robin Wright
• Yorick Van Wageningen
• Joely Richardson
• Geraldine James
• Gordan Visnjic
• Donald Sumpter
• Ulf Friberg

As these actors are shown therefore they are all important in the film otherwise they would not be mentioned. After this the casting director is named, then the costume designer, next is the co-producers of which there are two, then sound design and music. The editors are then mentioned and then production design and director of photography. All these people in the middle are shown quite quickly and this suggests that they are not as important as the people at the beginning and the end.
The 4 producers names are then mention towards the end:

• Scott Rudin
• Ole Sondberg
• Soren Starmose
• Cean Chaffin

As this was originally a book they have to mention the author and publisher who are towards the end suggesting they are very important. The Screenplay person suggests that we should know who they are!

Editing: DAY 2

We started putting the clips into action and put them in order of how the sequence went. We did not cut anything from the clips we just put them in order before anything got too complicated. We did not look at the sound in detail but did the picture edit first. We included nearly every single clip that we filmed and we thought this was the right thing to do but as we started editing more we realised that we did not need all of the shots!! We got half way on the pictorial edit on DAY 2!!!

Evaluation of shoot!

The day before the shoot I set up the set on my own however I had some help from a media teacher as I wasn't tall enough to put it all up. As no one else from my group was there I hoped that the set looked just how everyone had wanted it. We had all had chats before hand and planned the set however it is still nerve racking as I was not 100% sure. Most of the props were in the room already but I did not set up the props in the room as I wanted to do that all together.

The next day I woke up and felt prepared for my shoot, I was excited but also slightly nervous as the day ahead could turn out brilliant, or could not work at all. On the way to school I looked through the storyboard just to freshen my mind and as I arrived at school I went straight to the studio.

When I got to the studio all my group arrived too about the same time and they were very pleased with the set. All together we got the set ready and put the desk in place. At the beginning of our sequence there is a part which the man walks in a corridor and unlocks the door to the basement room, we had to go find where to do this even though we had a slight idea in mind. Luckily, the idea we had worked and so the beginning of the shoot started in the basement of the school. 

Basements tend to be dark and gloomy with low lighting. The set had a dim light hanging over the centre which looked very like a basement. The walls were grey brick which also gave a good effect. I think the set suited what we wanted very well. 

There are multiple roles on shoot day such as camera man, director, sound and continuity person. Throughout the whole day we swapped around roles, I spent quite a lot of time behind the camera and I also did some directing and continuity. Unfourtunatly I did not get a chance to do sound but there are other times I can practise this skill as I am interested in it. 

Personally, all the shots we wanted to create worked very well and therefore the actual shooting of the sequence went very well, the different atmospheres were created well with the lighting and also the situations, for example, in the corridor downstairs, that worked really well and even though we did not know how it would turn out. Over all I was very pleased with nearly every aspect of the shoot day. For next time I think we learnt to keep going until we absolutly have to stop for lunch because after lunch the moods and atmosphere went down hill and everyone wanted to just get it done and it lacked enthusiasm whereas before lunch everyone was very enthusiastic.

Most of all I enjoyed being behind the camera and directing, I could not choose between the two as I love being practical but I also loved being in charge. After a very succesful day the editing is what comes next! 

Editing is what makes the piece come together. I am looking forward to seeing this and I am also looking forward to adding music to create a deeper sense of atmosphere and ambiguity.  I am also looking forward to see how it cuts together and what cuts we use as they could gradually change or it could be straight cuts. 

Generally I feel like we worked really well as a team, everyone did their jobs and everyone listened. Maybe some of the group should have concerntrated more on the shoot but I was very happy with the way we worked and there was no arguments, we all got on really well throughout the whole process! 

Editing: DAY 1

To kick off the editing process we added two folders to our work, one called rush bin and one called log bin. We went through each clip and coloured it in orange if we wanted to use it. Once we had done this we went over the ones we had highlighted a renamed them so we know what we were working with. This bit was very time consuming and monotonous but it is worth while for the rest of the whole editing process. This was as far as we got on DAY 1! It is very exciting starting to edit as you feel it all really coming together well!

THE SHOOT

The shoot went really well. We all arrived on time in the studio and the rest of the group thought that the set looked great which was a relief to me as I was not sure and it was quite pressurising to get it right. We got the rest of the set ready then left the studio to shoot the beginning of our sequence. Using the corridor at the bottom of the school as a perfect location. We took extra lighting down as the normal lights down there did not create the atmosphere we wanted. Whilst down there we filmed sounds for the background noises and also random but thought of shoots of walls and wires for the credits to go under. This beginning part went very well which made all of us excited to get on with the rest of the day.

We went back to the studio and each of us swapped round our rolls throughout the day. I felt I did a lot of the work with the camera and directing as I think the rest of the group got a bit tired but we worked well together and I am pleased with all of us. We shot everything in the studio with no problems.

The shoot was over by 3pm.

Creating the set

This part was left too me as my group couldn't take part in it. I talked to someone who could help me out and the afternoon before the shoot we set up the set. We wanted gloomy basement kind of look, therefore grey walls and low lighting. I painted walls of bricks grey and we put them up on the panels which then created a room. We gathered the props for the room in the morning as we had time to do so. As I did the set the afternoon before we were pretty much ready to go on the day of the shoot.

Time Schedule for the shoot

SHOOTING SCHEDULE – “THE CAMERA MAN”

·        08.45am meet at studio

·        09.00am set up in the Hurtwood basement, filming walking up to the door and unlocking it

 SHOTS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

·        11.00am set up in the studio, setting up the camera and on the computer at his desk

SHOTS 1-46

·        3.00pm finish shoot, pack up camera/props

The character

THE CAMERA MAN

Has an obsession with one girl and films and photographs her daily actions for his pleasure.

In the sequence he sets up his film camera. He also opens and writes in folders and books.

Costume list

Costume list

• Brown or black boots, chunky with laces, possibly doc martins.
• Black jeans
• Black/brown mid length coat maybe a trench coat
• Watch
• Black gloves
• Grey t-shirt

This was not absolutely essential but something along these lines was the look we wanted to go for.

Prop list

Prop list

• Key
• Folders
• Clock
• Pens
• Cigarettes
• Lighter
• Discs
• Batteries

• Voice recorder
• Camera bag with zip 
• Camera
• Tripod
• Camera box

Equipment list

• Camera bag with zip 
• Camera
• Tripod
• Camera box

Cast list

Cast list (possibilities)

	Name: Adam Grant Who: Media Teacher Contact: adam.grant@hurtwood.net Height: 5ft8 Shoe size: 8 Costume size: Figure: Well built
	Name: James Hartman Who: Drama and Psychology teacher Contact: james.hartman@hurtwood.net Height: Shoe size: Costume size: Figure: Well built
	Name: Neil Palmer Who: Record producer Contact: neil.palmer@jfpuk.com Height: 5ft9 Shoe size:  8 Costume size: large Figure: Well built

Narrative action

This took some time to do as we made it as detailed as possible for everyone to be able to understand.

NARRATIVE ACTION OF “THE CAMERA MAN”

Ø Man walks towards door

Ø Man holds up key and unlocks door

Ø See key coming towards us through the lock

Ø Man walks through door and closes it

Ø When the man walks in the room he looks at the bags on the floor ready to be set up, he packs them up and leaves them in the same position each time so this is a poignant shot.

Ø The man then opens the zip of the tripod bag

Ø He then takes the tripod out of the bag

Ø The tripod opens up, the camera is shooting upwards from below the tripod and the legs are clicked into place

Ø He then extends the top of the tripod legs and clicks them into place again

Ø The man then walks around the tripod to check everything is in place

Ø He then adds the handle on to the tripod and twists it into place.

Ø After the tripod is set up he makes sure the camera hold is straight so places the ball in the center of the yellow circle.

Ø Once the tripod is set up he opens the box containing the camera.

Ø We see the handles of the camera box clicked into place.

Ø He takes the camera out and puts it onto the tripod, clicking it in to place.

Ø He then moves to his desk in his room to open some documents on his laptop.

Ø He replies to some emails and then opens a recording application

Ø There are many folders on his desk named FOLDER 1, 2, 3, the camera pans across these folders as if it is his P.O.V trying to find the correct folder

Ø He attaches the cable to the USB in the laptop which is attached to the camera, this means that whatever he films on the camera will go straight to his laptop

Ø Once the laptop and camera are connected he then puts the battery into the camera and also puts the memory card in.

Ø The camera is turned on.

Ø The camera lens opens, ECU of lens.

Ø  ECU of man pressing the record button

Ø There is a P.O.V shot of the screen turning from standby to record.

Ø Blackout and title in bold saying ‘THE CAMERAMAN’.

Final Storyboard

Finalising our idea

After a few weeks of discussions and changes in idea we finally came up with what we wanted to shoot. At the beginning we felt that we needed more action in the sequence but is not the case as Adam suggested that if we put in a little girls toy for example, this will give away ideas and may be too typical (a man kidnapping a little girl). Often the simplest work out the best as we are able to work closely on the editing and create perfection.I am glad that our group has finally come to a conclusion of what we are going to do for our coursework piece.

Updated prop list

Prop list 

• Papers
• Mug
• Folders
• Laptop
• Keys