The Opening Sequence

Evaluation

Behind the Scenes:

Someone who helped on filming day recorded footage of the filming. So I decided to make a short 'behind the scenes' video to show the setting, the actors and what I was doing when filming the opening sequence. It also helped me get more experienced with editing.

I edited this on iMovie and added the song 'the Wrong Direction' by Passenger. This video basically shows the actors and myself working on the opening sequence.

Filming Day: Schedule & Equipment List

Equipment to bring: 2 x video camera + chargers, tripod, spare memory card, Mac & charger, lead, props (book), microphone

Equipment at venue: stage lights, costumes (coats, scarves, hats, gloves), props (cups, mugs, set dressing)

Schedule:

10:00am 
Arrive/Meet actors (Dan & Irene) & extras
Fetch lights & costumes
Set up lights & camera on tripod
Find ladder (for overhead shot)

10:30-11:00am 
Dress set

11:00-11:30am 
Scene - Lea arrives in cafe:
Various shots of her arriving, talking to Barista

12:00-1:00pm 
Scene - Ben and Lea meet and talk:
Rehearse/Shoot scene from different angles:
- Both in profile (classic cafe scene)
- From behind Ben, close up on Lea
- From behind Lea, close up on Ben
- From above (on ladder - have someone to hold it - health & safety)

1:00-2:00pm 
Ben waiting:
- Zoom slowly in on face from some way away
- Film from different distances (long shot, mid-shot, close up, extreme close up)
- Face in profile (someone behind)

2:00-2:30pm
Lunch/Record sounds in local café

2:30-3:30pm 
Close up of coffee in cup
Close ups of Ben turning book pages
Other bits & pieces (e.g. coffee machine, Barista)

3:30-4:00pm 
Record voiceover narrative

4:00pm 
Finish

Credits

The credits shall be shown during the zoom in to the main character (Ben) and when Ben is looking through the book. Each credit shall about about 3-4 seconds, whereas the title will be 5-6 seconds. When the credits are on the book, they will look like they're written on the book and I have downloaded a handwriting font for it and experiment with what looks most effective.

Credits Being Used:

• Extreme Picnicking Studios
• A Sociopath's Charm (Title)
• Directed By Alexandra Thackray
• Starring: Dan Ball and Irene Wernli
• Casting By Nicola Triscott
• Music Composed By Samuel Dunstall

Sound

I will be using a mix of layered sounds in the film (altering the balance appropriately), including:

Diegetic sound:

• The dialogue between Ben and Lea, which will be recorded on camera (diegetic sound) 
• Busy cafe sounds, which I will record separately and add later, because the location I'm using will be quiet 
• Foley sounds - wind blowing, teaspoons chinking on cup, etc 

Non-diegetic sound:

• Voiceover (narrator - Ben's thinking), which I will record separately 
• Commissioned music score (mood music) - guitar composed and played by Samuel Dunstall (my guitar teacher)

Changing the Actress of Lea

I decided I didn't want to play a character myself so I can focus on directing/filming.

Irene Wernli, who is a professional dancer, said she would play the role of Lea Carpenter. Irene is about 28 and is used to performing, although not speaking lines, but she only has to say "I'm Lea".

As she's older than me, I decided to make the character a professor rather than a student psychiatrist, which makes more sense to the story. I also need to find some extras, so the cafe doesnt look completely empty. A barista and one or two people to sit in the background would be good. Theatre Deli says there are a few people around - mostly actors - who I could ask.

Irene/Lea:

Location and Mise-En-Scene

Location: a cafe / coffee shop daytime, winter (cold)

Mood: typical coffee shop.

The location was very difficult to find because I needed a cafe or coffee shop and these are always really busy, so too noisy to shoot in or it would annoy the customers (even if I got permission from the owners). Outside opening hours, they are not staffed or are cleaning up so couldnt let me film. Eventually, I was offered the cafe-bar of Theatre Delicatessen in Marylebone High Street, London, to use for free, where my lead actor Dan's theatre company is based: http://www.theatredelicatessen.com/. The cafe-bar is unused in the daytime.

Pros: A real cafe-bar with tables, chairs, bar, useful props & set dressing. Empty during the day, so quiet and good for filming. (plus Theatre Deli has stage lights I can use)

Cons: Very dark (needs lights), quite messy and crazy (e.g. giant sunflowers) so camera angles will have to be carefully chosen.

Other things needed for mise-en-scene: 

Costumes - winter coats, scarves, gloves, hats
Props - the book, set dressing, coffee mugs.
Lights - to make it look like daytime.
Extras - so cafe doesnt look empty.
Sound of a busy cafe - so it doesnt sound empty

To do in advance: 

Sort out costumes for main characters - coats, scarves, gloves, hats
Make the book prop (done)

To do on arrival at venue:

Decorate set (e.g. cafe price list, coffee mugs - available at venue)
Tidy up and hide clutter and theatre signs

Locate stage lights and light set (very difficult, very dark)
Meet extras

To do during day:

Record sounds in a local busy cafe

Products similar to my film/opening sequence

Black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor, which is humour that makes light of otherwise solemn subject matter. 

Similar products to 'A Sociopath’s Charm': 

Being John Malkovich - a 1999 American comedy-fantasy film. It stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and John Malkovich, who plays a fictional version of himself. The protagonist, Craig Schwartz (Cusack), is a puppeteer who finds a portal that leads into Malkovich's mind.

Grosse Pointe Blank - a 1997 American comedy film about a professional assassin going back to his home town to attend his 10-year high school reunion and a contract to kill someone there. He has a romance with an old girlfriend.

50/50 - a 2011 American dark comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Levine, from a screenplay written by Will Reiser, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. The film is loosely inspired by Reiser's own experience with cancer.



The Men Who Stare At Goats - a 2009 dark comedy film by Grant Heslov, starring Ewen McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, based on a story by Jon Ronson.

What is my film about and who is its target audience?

The film “A Sociopath’s Charm” is a black comedy about one man’s search to solve an international puzzle and to understand insanity. It is inspired by a true story by Jon Ronson, who also wrote The Men Who Stare At Goats, which was made into a film in 2009.

The film itself will mix dark humour and satire, with a romantic sub-plot. In the film, the main character sets out on a journey to find the person who has sent a bunch of professors a weird book puzzle, and on the way discovers crazy people, possibly crazy people, lots of psychiatrists, and wonders what "crazy" actually means.

The film concept is “who is a sociopath/psychopath?” and it explores, through a comic journey from London to Europe and the USA, how we understand what a sociopath/psychopath is, what are the criteria for being a sociopath or psychopath, how to identify one, and whether psychopaths are all crazy murderers or if some of them are just part of society, living next door to you, even running large companies maybe.

Its main character is a journalist Ben Burnham. He is very self-absorbed and thinks too much about himself. He is always looking for a good story. There is a romantic sub-plot with the professor of psychology he meets.

Its target audience is a mainstream audience who enjoy black comedies and road trips. They are both men and women and probably who have finished high school education, even college education. It is more sophisticated than something like “The Hangover”, but still funny.

Progress (April)

What I Have Done So Far:

• Completed filming and recorded narration
• Got help for the song in the opening sequence and worked on the vocal harmonies for it
• Done a rough edit of the opening sequence

What I Still Need To Complete:

• Record completed song with instruments and vocals
• Do a final edit of the opening sequence
• Add extra information to blog

Examples of Credits

Panic Room:

Analysis: Striking credits in giant letters are placed across skyscrapers and buildings in New York. With the music, this creates feeling of suspense, dread and a feeling that disaster is coming. Each credit lasts around 4-5 seconds. The title 'Panic Room' is longer at about 6 seconds to grasp the audience's attention.

American Beauty:

Analysis: A beautiful credit sequence. I drew a lot of influence from this. The music is melodic, sad and somehow mysterious, with a bare texture. It creates a sense of dread in its own way. It creates discomfort. The film uses a lot of rewound footage, such as a white cloth on a line burning to ash played backwards and petals "falling" upwards from credits. I drew influence from the 'still life' nature of the credits, and the contrast with the opening scene.

Second (Possibly Final) Draft of the Script

A Sociopath's Charm 

Film's story: A dark comedy about a man's search to solve the puzzle of a mysterious book. On his journey, he explores the nature of the abnormal psychopathic personality, encountering many interesting people. 

Opening sequence:


Timing is approximate to see if it fits in 2 minutes.

00:00-00:06

EXTREME PICNICKING PICTURES (logo)

00:06-00:09 

Black screen

Title: Extreme Picknicking Pictures presents

[Sound of wind blowing]

00:10-00:20

[Music starts quietly]

[Opening shot: Either a coffee shop in the snow, exterior OR looking down on a cup of black coffee]

Voiceover:

This is a story about insanity. It begins with a strange rendezvous in a London coffee shop.

00:20-00:50

[A young man sits at a table in a coffee shop, waiting. He wears – or has with him – a thick coat. There is a scarf and gloves on the table.]

[Camera zooms in slowly on him as the voiceover continues] [Possible credits]

Voiceover:

It was a café where psychiatrists tended to gather; the Kings College Institute of Psychiatry being round the corner.

I was waiting for one now. She – along with several other academics around the world - had received an anonymous package in the post. The package contained a mystery.

None of them could figure out what it meant. They needed someone to crack the puzzle.

Not an academic.

Someone. More. Ruthless.

A Journalist.

[Camera halts - close up on face]

[Music volume increases]

Title: THE SOCIOPATH’S CHARM

[Profile shot. Or shot of the coffee itself. Sound of spoon clinking on mug.]

00:50-01:00

Voiceover:

My name is Ben Burnham.I was having a massive panic attack. A cult leader was suing me for calling him a sociopath.

[Noise of door opening and shutting. Wind blowing into café.]

01:00-01:30

[A young woman enters the café. She is wearing a thick coat, scarf and gloves]

[She sits. Mid shot.]

Girl: I’m Lea

Ben: I’m Ben [pause] Have you got it?

[Extreme high angle from above table? Girl slides package across the table. Ben opens it. Looks at it. Then looks up at her.]

Ben: It’s fascinating.

01:30-02:00

[Ben looks through the book. Book interspersed with credits.]

Credits

The Basic Storyboard

I used storyboardthat.com to create a basic storyboard for my opening sequence and credits. I've kept it simple to get the basic idea and I'll use different camera angles on the day of filming and see what fits with the scenery and the actors. The final decision will be made during editing.

Progress (March)

What I Have Done So Far:

• Completed the script
• Got the actors for the opening sequence
• Got the extras for the opening sequence
• Found a good setting for the coffee shop
• Got help for the music in the opening sequence and worked on the vocal harmonies for it
• Decided on the how I want the titles to appear
• Designed the book

What I Still Need To Complete:

• Record completed song with instruments and vocals
• Complete the mood board
• Check out the setting for the opening sequence
• Get a recording of the monologue from Dan
• Find out how to get the right opening credits
• Work on what camera shots fit my opening sequence
• Film the opening sequence before the end of April

Casting

For my opening sequences, I would need to cast two people to play Ben and Lea. I will be mostly looking at their experience in acting, if they are easy to contact and if they look the part.
Possibilities:
There were a few people I considered for these parts, most of them are friends and family. I have included myself for the role because it would be easier for me to organize it instead of having two actors.

For the role of Ben:

For the role of Lea:

The Strengths and Limitations of the actors/actresses:

Declan:
Strength: I can contact him easily
Limitation: He has no experience in acting, he may be too young and would probably refuse to play the part

Dan:
Strength: Perfect age for the part, has a lot of experience in acting and his image fits the description of the character
Limitation: May struggle a little at trying to contact him. Limited availability.

Chris:
Strength: His image fits the character
Limitation: He may be too young, I don't know about his experience in acting and it might be hard to contact him

Gemma:
Strength: I can contact her easily and her image fits the character well
Limitation: She struggles a little with acting naturalistic and she may be too young for the part

Ellie:
Strength: She looks old enough for the part and is easy to contact
Limitation: I don't know about her experience in acting and her image doesn't seem to fit the characters

Alex:
Strength: Has had some experience with acting and the image seems to fit the character
Limitation: It will be hard for me to direct and act in the same sequence and may be too young for the part

Final Decision:
I decided to ask Dan to play the role of Ben and pick myself for the role of Lea because we both have some experience in acting, which I really need for this opening sequence as the characters need to be realistic. Dan fits the description of the character extremely well and has offered to help me with the script, extras and setting.

Dan/Ben:

Photo of Alex/Lea:

Extra Notes:

Dan and my mother know friends who would be willing to come and be extras for the opening sequence at the coffee shop. The coffee shop will either be filmed at Dan's workplace or my mother's workplace. I will most likely be filming during the Easter Holidays as that is when Dan and the extra actors will be free.

The Book

In the opening sequence, there is a book that Lea hands to Ben. Nothing in the book seems to make much sense, this is to create a sense of mystery, some of the pages have a threatening feeling to them, and it is one of the main reasons why Ben goes on to explore sociopathic personality disorder.

Basically, I had to create a book that mostly contains illusions, enigmas, quotes about abnormality, etc. Most of the pictures are drawn by M.C. Escher. Every other page is blank and one of the pages has a hole in it, this is done so people cannot make sense of it.

Front Page

'Unbearable Lightness - Edward Nigma'

'Reality is merely an illusion, albeita very pesistant one. - Albert Einstein'

'This sentence contradicts itself - no actually it doesn't. - Douglaus Hofstadter'

'We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow. - Ted Bundy'

Sheet Music for Cantata No. 191 - J.S. Bach

'We are all a little crazy. - Edward Nigma'

'Good Luck'