Story-telling Unit: Film Research

I wanted to research what the opening 2 minutes were like in films that I like, short films that are similar films to my own. By doing this I was hoping to get a clearer picture of what is expected and also the style they filmed in.

One of my favourite films is Bridesmaids as Kirsten Wiig, who wrote and stars in it, is a massive inspiration for me. I re-watched the film to see how it had been filmed and how they started it. Obviously this a much longer film than mine but it's a film that I've seen so many times without really thinking about the production side of things so for me it's a good place to start.

One of the first things I noticed it how during most scenes they have an establishing shot of some sort. Whether this be the outside of a building or a wide/long shot that includes the main characters for this scene. When the dialogue begins the wide shot focuses on the 2 characters having them both be in shot. Then the next shots are over the shoulder ones from the character who isn't talking showing the one who is. This seems to be a simple method and one I will keep in mind whilst shooting. However as my characters will be sitting next to each other it might be difficult to get this to work so I want to talks look at other options. Here is a scene from the film where this is used effectively. 

The opening 2 minutes of films usually tend to introduce the main character(s). For example in Bridesmaids, the scene begins with an establishing shot of the location of a house at night, with the voices of the characters being heard from off screen (inside the location). The next shot is from inside the house. the camera moves slowly towards a door. Due to the noises the characters are making we can assume this is the bedroom. The main character, Annie, is then visually introduced to us where she is having 'sweaty sex' with the character of Ted, in his bedroom. The next few shots are all showing the various positions the characters are in and either close ups, long shots or mid shots. Then to show the next scene they have another establishing shot of the location. This time the house is in daylight so the audience will know time has past. Then another long shot of the character Annie, in the bathroom putting on make up in the same clothes as the previous scene. Again this helps to reinforce the time scale for the audience - it's the morning after. Then there are more mid shots and close ups during the dialogue.

In the opening 2 minutes of the short film Love is all you need? it starts with the screen black and the sound of a crying baby can be heard. Then a voice over begins and the first shot we see is a close up of a Doctor who has just delivered a baby. The screen cuts to black again and then a mid shot of 2 females, looking straight into the camera. One has hospital gown on and the other a scrub jacket - they are the parents of the newborn. Cut to black again and a blur effect this time when we have a close up of one of the mothers feeding food into the camera. The camera is set as the eyes of the child. The Voice of the mother is slowed slightly. Then we see the child through a close up. More voice over and close ups of the parents and child. The voice over is a young girl - the baby we have just seen being born. Fade to black again - the camera follows a child with a gift. she hands it to a blonde child of a similar ages. A wide shot reveals the parents from the previous scene sitting with the now older child. Then more close ups of various characters and guests at the party. Fade to black again and we are at a wedding. Close ups and mid shots of characters throughout the voice over tell the story as does an establishing shot to reaffirm the location we are seeing. Fade to black again. A group of children come into shot with their bikes and scooters. The camera starts low on the long shot into a more central view followed by some over the shoulder shots and close ups of the characters as they are speaking.

My housemate pointed out a scene in One Tree Hill where 2 characters are sat next to each other during a lecture. The camera uses the depth of field to switch focus from one character to another. This might be a more effective tool for during my filming of my scene but it would depend on the space available.



All this research has been really useful for my filming and has helped me with creating my storyboard. I now am more aware of what shots I should be including when I go on set. For me this is a major difference as when i did media studies i just put the camera down and filmed the whole scene. This time i'm paying closer attention to how it should be done.

Now to finish the storyboard.

Stay Safe,

Helen