R+P Post 8: Our opening sequence idea

Opening sequence idea: Our film opening will focus on the movement of Arthur through a familiar setting (house) during his daily routine, but then his entrance into an unknown and intimidating environment of a new school. We aim to show the contrast in his character in the two different settings and begin the narrative through close ups and split screens (as demonstrated in "127 Hours"). The lack of dialogue may also appeal to the audience as the scene progresses quickly and moves onto the next action. Another reference for the second part of our opening would be "She's The Man" as the corridor tracking scene effectively presents the main character's confusion and shock in a chaotic situation. We aim to shoot a scene lasting under a minute including a tracking shot of Arthur attempting to find his classroom through the havoc of the corridor. It intends to present his feelings of intimidation as he is ignored and disregarded by his peers and is unable to approach them confidently to find the headmaster's office. After being woken by his alarm, Arthur reluctantly gets out of bed and gets himself ready for school. The scenes will show him brushing his teeth, opening the fridge, walking around his bedroom and putting on a jacket (as a split screen). He then takes his keys from the counter and walks towards the front door. The next shot is a 'match on action' of opening the door at the side entrance of the school. Receiving glares from other students, he makes his way along the corridor attempting to find the headmaster's room with a map of the ground floor. During this tracking scene, Arthur encounters several segregated social groups of friends, moving in between classes and pushing through the crowd. He eventually reaches the room he has been looking for and scrambles in, slamming the door behind him. He is greeted by the headmaster (not in the frame) who encourages him to introduce himself (voiceover from the corner of the room). The final title appears on the front of the door. (Below is a timeline of our opening sequence)

Titles:
1. Institutional production company - EGA Productions (as part of Zodiak Media)
2. Actors names
3. Music credits - freeplaymusic.com, Royalty Free Music
4. Director and producer credits
5. Film title - The Climb

The opening credits will be as above at intervals of around 10 seconds (timed appropriately to match the soundtrack). The titles will interact with the objects on the screen and will follow the movements of the main character for effect. We have chosen a font appropriate for a film of the comedy/drama genre that is also easy to read. The opening credits are noticeable in each shot and draw attention to the actor's fast movements out of each frame. A reference for our titles is "Juno" as the main character is alone in the opening credits, and Arthur is similarly portrayed as an outcast. Also, she moves into a new setting with 'match on action' shots, which we will incorporate into our film. The font and animated design of "Juno"'s opening is also typical of indie comedy films (such as "Superbad"). 

Setting: To convey the busy and fast-paced lifestyle of Arthur, our film opening will be shot in several locations: a boy's room, bathroom, kitchen, hallway of his house, school side entrance and school corridor. The room will be adapted to fit the conventions of a typical boy's room, and the use of brief dialogue and costume in the school corridor will present the different topics of conversation and segregated social groups in a high school. Key characters will be used in the background of the corridor scene to match the typical conventions of a school (teenagers, people pushing past, chaotic atmosphere). We will also use props to represent character stereotypes (such as a messy room, sports kit etc). A reference for set design is Seth's room in "Superbad" or Regina's room in "Mean Girls".

Camerawork/editing: To convey the fear and intimidation of Arthur in the unfamiliar school setting, we will use POV shots to allow the audience to sympathise with him and infer that he is left out and alienated. These shots also create the effect that he is being stared at and is the centre of attention (this was used in "Mean Girls"). To speed up the movement from his house into school, we will use a 'match on action' shot, as it suggests to the audience that Arthur is completely unprepared for his entrance into the havoc of the school corridor and had not anticipated such hostility from other students. It creates the effect of being 'brought back to reality' and he realises he is not as welcomed as he would have liked. The close-ups during the morning routine will reinforce the isolation of Arthur, and present him as more relatable and personal with the audience. Additionally, the use of split screen also speeds up his morning routine, suggesting that he has a busy and fast-paced lifestyle. It also indicates the insignificance of the day to Arthur, as he does not appear nervous or concerned at this point (until he faces up to the reality of his social status at the new school). We may also use an 'eyeline match' in between the corridor tracking shot, as this demonstrates that he is inferior and feels intimidated by other students that glance at him and make judgements. 

Sound: Our opening in particular will be more reliant on soundtrack and sound effects as this conveys our character more suitably than through dialogue. Music will be playing throughout most of the 2 minutes apart from brief intervals of sound effects (such as the school bell). During conversation, the soundtrack ("Muscle Men") will quieten and the sound effects will be used to indicate a change in the setting or situation. The sound effects we intend to use are (in order or appearance): alarm clock, voiceover of mother shouting from downstairs, school bell, footsteps, door opening, school atmosphere/background noise, door slamming shut, voiceover of headmaster from outside the frame. "127 Hours" uses similar music and sound effects to convey the fast-paced lifestyle of the main character as well as his isolation. The only dialogue in its opening is a voiceover of a recorded phone message, and our film opening is also lacking in clear conversation.