Analysis of the opening to Leon: The Professional

Analysis of the opening to Leon: The Professional

Below is the Prezi for my analysis of the opening to Leon: The Professional.

Preliminary

Preliminary

In preparation for the media coursework, we had to direct a short video where the brief stated that we needed to have a character open the door, cross a room and sit down in a chair opposite another character where some dialogue is then exchanged. This would demonstrate my ability to film and edit these sections together as well as the brief requiring me to include match on action and a shot/reverse shot over the shoulder where all these shots had to keep to the 180 degree rule.



I worked alone as I felt that my attention would be best focused if I produced this independently. I decided to create my short video on a kidnapping and interrogation scene that started with the kidnapper preparing himself for the interrogation by acquiring his handgun and putting on his ski mask. Then the man enters the interrogation room, sits down, interrogates the hostage and then kills the hostage.



I created a story board that listed the order, shot type, dialogue, example of what the shot should look like, the length of the shot, sound effects and other extra information such as how the shot cuts to the next shot so that the video flows seamlessly.

I believe that I did meet the brief. This is because I included the shots asked for which included: match on action (3 shots) where I included a shot of the kidnapper walking up to the door, then a close up of the handle being turned and then a shot from the other side of the door being opened and then the kidnapper approaching the camera.

As well as match on action, I was required to use a shot of a person walking across the room. I showed this shot in the shot of the shoes walking across the screen and then the kidnapper walking over to the seat and sitting down.

I included conversation in the dialogue “Where is it?” from the kidnapper and then “I don’t know!” from the hostage.

The shot of the shoes also acted as a transition shot of the kidnapper walking into the room and then sitting down in the chair.

Evidence of the use of sound effects is at the end of the video where the gun is fired and then the sound of a gunshot and shell casing can be heard.

Dubbed audio is included in the line “Don’t lie to me!” which was re-recorded and then re-positioned to sound more natural.  I also added the song Gyorgy Ligeti- Requiem for the opening 19 seconds of the preliminary. This was inspired by 2014’s Godzilla Halo scene where the music is used.

An aspect that went well was the sound effects were highly effective when used for the gunshot with a cut to black that emphasised the speed of the event. The music in the opening created an eerily creepy feeling for he audience with the accompanying shots of the kidnapper preparing himself by placing on a ski mask and recovering a handgun from a briefcase.

I also have a large variety of shots that are ordered in an appropriate fashion. These shots include: still shots, angled shots, rising shots, shots from behind a character, close ups, medium shots,  match on action, transition shots, medium shots, wide shots, over the shoulder shots and reaction shots from characters. Examples of correct ordering would be the rising shot showing the firearm in the briefcase and then the briefcase being empty afterwards. This also allows inference by the audience to be made as they can work out that the empty briefcase means that the kidnapper has taken the gun. The use of the rising hot it self is quite unique and allows a somewhat slow realisation of the audience when they realise what is in the briefcase.

The ending also went well as it cuts quickly to black after the gun is raised to the hostage’s head which surprises the audience and creates a level of shock after seeing the violent actions of the kidnapper.

An aspect that did not go as well was the cut from the domesticated home (with darker lighting) setting to the interrogation room setting that was much brighter as it was filmed on school grounds.

There were also some continuity issues like the last shot where the hostage is shot yet her hands are still tied even though the shot just before shows her removing her ties.

Coursework brief and initial ideas

Option 2

Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

Can be undertaken in pairs – both students must show and record their involvement in both the filming and editing process.

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Media coursework. I have chosen to complete option 2 which is the titles and the opening of a new fiction film. I have chosen this option over option 1 because I believe that it allows me to best present my media skills through planning, resource collecting, set scouting, directing and cinematography. These skills have been mostly shown in my preliminary which gave me valuable insight into the process of setting up of the filming process and the principal photography that follows afterwards as well as editing in post production.

I have chosen to complete option 2 which is the titles and the opening of a new fiction film. I have chosen this option over option 1 because I believe that it allows me to best present my media skills through planning, resource collecting, set scouting, directing and cinematography. These skills have been mostly shown in my preliminary which gave me valuable insight into the process of setting up of the filming process and the principal photography that follows afterwards as well as editing in post production.

Initial ideas: initially I am very confident about the task and believe that I can work at a very efficient rate that is well planned and on schedule. My immediate idea is that of a negative tone that involves some form of authority figure and is accompanied by music. My main concern is that of the maximum length of the movie opening. The limit is 2 minutes. After an inquiry with my Media teacher, he said that 3 minutes would be the absolute maximum length. This could be an issue as my original ideas would most likely extend to about 3 and a half to 4 minutes. I already know though which aspects I would remove with little effect to the overall message presented in the movie opening. This would then limit the length of the movie opening to the maximum length. In terms of props, I am well equipped and can source most required costumes and props from local sources at either little or no price which will make filming on an almost zero budget plausible. I do not currently have an actor so I will need to either use someone who I know or know their family/friends. I can also advertise locally to try and find a more appropriate actor. I am looking for a male actor aged between 30-50 years old for my movie opening.

 Pictured: an idea of the type of look I want for my actor- Joel The Last Of Us

Pictured: musical inspiration for this movie opening- Madvillain, Great Day Today (Four Tet Remix)

Below is a mind map showing the different aspects of the task that I have chosen.

Similarities between movie openings

The similarities between movie openings

The Dark Knight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqvbv-SB4bg

This Dark Knight opening follows a group of bank robbers who rob a bank in the city of Gotham. This robbery is orchestrated by the Joker himself. Unbeknownst to the robbers, the Joker is actually one of the robbers among them and hides his identity (like the other robbers) with a clown mask and operates without speaking. The bank robbery occurs and it is revealed that the Joker has informed each robber to kill each other off to increase the shares for each robber.

The Town

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOsJ7jLRQq4

The Town opening is that of a bank robbery in Boston. The first shot is through a CCTV camera and then changes to inside the bank where the robbers wear grim reaper masks. They show evidence of being extremely well prepared as they are aware that the bank's vault unlocks at 8:15 and use this fact to prove that Claire is lying to them which add dominance to their character. The tripping of the silent alarm adds tension to the scene as the audience have to take into account the violence of the bank robbers endangering the hostages lives and the want for the bank robbers to escape in time to get away without being caught by the police. This creates a two sided opinion on viewers as they wish for both the robbers to escape but also for the safety of the hostages.

Lord Of War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHn1zogeyO4

The Lord Of War opening begins with a shot of spent casings on the ground which then pans up to Nicolas Cage talking about how many firearms there are in the world and then finishes by making an unexpected comment about arming the rest of the world. The song "For what it's worth" starts playing to a shot inside a bullet making factory where the life of a bullet is shown as it goes from construction, to being shipped over to Africa and then being loaded into an AK47 to then be fired into a child soldier during a gunfight. The music limits the dialogue used in the opening to only occasional shouts in the factory and non defined words that are only added as filler for the audio to show a human element in the construction of the bullet in the factory.

Conclusion

All these three openings contain violence. The Dark Knight uses this is the carefully planned way the Joker sets each henchman to kill each other off, then by the treatment of the hostages in the bank by both the henchman and the Joker himself. The Joker makes a reveal when he takes his mask off which is shocking to the audience as they are not expecting to see the Joker in the beginning of the film.




The Town presents violence through the way the bank manager is beaten for only speaking which show the irrationality of the bank robbers. The use of profanity also emphasises the violent nature of the opening. The reveal in the opening is that Ben Affleck is one of the bank robbers when he takes his mask off which is  potentially not expected by the audience.




The Dark Knight and The Town are also similar as they contain a bank robbery.




Lord Of War presents violence nearer the end of the opening through the gunfight presented showing the end of the life of a bullet. The war setting also shows violent elements as well as the opening shot of a large collection of casings on the ground which infers a gunfight because of the surrounding war. The reveal in the opening shot presents Nicolas Cage as an arms trader standing over the casings which could be surprising to audiences as he is not shown immediately but the camera pans up to him.





The Dark Knight does not have titles in the opening. This may be to focus the audiences attention to the detailed actions of the bank robbers as they move in to rob the bank. This sets a unsettling tone as very little is given to the audience which makes them be less expecting for the breaking of the window and the zip line that follows the action lacking immediate closing shot on the building.
The Town does not have titles in the opening. This (like the above film) creates an abnormal feeling for the audience as titles are often expected at the start of the film . This attracts the audience's attention as they see that the movie almost sees the opening of the film to be too important to share with the titles. This also allows the audience to be more aware of the planning of the bank robbers when they ask about when the vault opens showing that they have prepared themselves which creates a stronger feeling on intensity for the audience as they are more focused on the events and wanting to see if the robbery is successful or not.




Lord Of War has titles after Nicolas Cage breaks the fourth wall will a small speech and a joke as the opening shot before the music starts and the credits begin. The first title is for Nicolas Cage which is because he is the main character in the film. The accompanying music with the titles makes the scene almost ironic as happy music is played over the creation of bullets that are used to murder people which creates an uneasy tone for the audience.