Question 6

1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of different technology used? 

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  2) What could you have done, but didn't?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  3) What advice would you be able to pass on to others wanting to make an opening sequence?
  
  
  Pre-production: Careful planning is essential, so people need to make sure that they have planned their story board with all the different shots which they are going to use in the production of their film. If this is done properly then it is highly likely that on the day of filming, this will go much more smoother and according to plan, than someone who has no storyboard, and is therefore unprepared.
  Location, props and characters also need to be taken care of in this stage. People should think carefully when wanting to get actors to play in their opening sequence such as they need to be well suited and be willing to work long hours. In terms of location, people should go and make sure it is safe to film, ask permission to film there as some places may not allow you to film. 
  
  
  Production: On the day of filming, it is important that everyone knows exactly what they are doing, and everyone sticks according to their schedule. On the day of filming the party, we created a strict schedule of when we film, when we have lunch, etc and we found this so much easier as we felt fully organised. It is important to have lunch hours where you feed the crew and actors, as unhappy actors can result in problems.
  When filming over a long period of time, it is vital that you take a picture of the location in order to make continuity editing work. This is what we did as we formed over the course of 2 weeks and sometimes the make-up products on the table we placed elsewhere.
  
  
  Post-prodution: The editing is crucial in making someone visual picture come to life of their opening sequence. For our opening sequence we asked as many people to watch our product as we can because this made sure that we gain constructive critisism and we can then go back and change things. 
  
  
  
  
  
  4) What could you have done but didn't?
  
  
  Establishing shot: Initially we wanted to open the sequence up with setting the camera up on a dolly and tracking along slowly, entering the party. This would have been good because it is like the viewer is entering the party, engaging them. However, we ended up doing a simple handheld shot for this scene because the surface was very rough and we could not find a smooth surface to use the dolly.
  Despite this, I still think that this shot was effective that we have currently used, and it is vital in letting the viewers know where the scene  of action is taking place.
  
  
  Conversation between me and Ruby: We were going to have the conversation between us longer instead of a simple 'Hey when are you going to be here', then 'Bye', however because we only had 2.30 max to make an opening sequence, we would have went over our limit. 
  
  
  Freeze scene: In our planning stage, we had an idea where Ruby enters the house, and everything in the background freezes or is slightly blurred expect these two main characters, in order to empathise their immediate attraction for one another. However, we did not do this as it was quite complicated, and it would have been too cheesy, which wasn't something we wanted at the end.
  
  
  Credits: We were going to have the credits appear on the products of the characters as they were getting ready, i.e. a magazine cover, mascara, lip gloss. However, at the end we decided to put them all at the beginning as this was a very lengthy process and  we did not have enough time to do this.