To start the planning we all decided on a main plan and the idea of how the scene would flow, we then each chose to do a task to cover the load of work and worked together to put the ideas together. We then mind-mapped possible ideas and came up with a very rough story board which I then expanded on to make the storyboard below. Lauren then designed a script to fit our ideas. We then sorted out a date and time after school to shoot and designed a floor plan around our location and where our cameras, props and actors would be. Storyboard:
Mind map of ideas:
Script:
INT.
OFFICE DOOR- NIGHT
FIONA is
stood outside GWENDOLYN’S office door hesitating as to whether to enter or not.
When the choice is made to enter, she uses her hand to gesture and charm the
door open, it flying open with force not startling GWENDOLYN who is sat at a
desk the other end of the room engrossed in writing a letter. FIONA approaches
and yet again gestures with her hand to conjure the chair out from under the
table, when she goes to sit GWENDOLYN gestures and the chair slides backward
with FIONA falling to the floor. Awkward silence ensues.
GWENDOLYN
(Pleasant)
Good evening Fiona.
FIONA
(Whilst standing up with a hint of
bitterness)
Always a pleasure Gwendolyn.
FIONA
finally sits in the chair electing a smirk from GWENDOLYN.
GWENDOLYN
(Innocent)
You don’t seem very pleased to see me Fiona.
I can’t imagine why not?
FIONA
Not pleased? Well I don’t suppose you’d think
that’s down to the fact you have violated the terms of the treaty, yet, again,
would it?
GWENDOLYN
I can’t say I know what you’re talking about.
FIONA
Oh you know exactly what I’m talking about,
keep your girls on your side of the city and I’ll keep mine on my side.
GWENDOLYN
Oh posh, why can’t we just live like we did
in Salem?
FIONA
(Angering)
Salem was a long time ago, and it’d be in
your best interests to remember that.
GWENDOLYN
(Mockingly)
Would it now? Or what?
FIONA
Or you’re gonna wish you were burnt at the
stake with all our sisters in Salem.
Tension,
GWENDOLYN is aware of the seriousness of FIONA’S threat. FADE OUT.
In this
essay, I will be comparing the film Casino Royale and the game LA noire. I will
be looking at 3 main elements; Genre, Cinematography and Representation.
Genre
LA Noire seems to be set in 1940's California in
“a city” near Hollywood. The voice over has a deep husky, American-Italian
accent which connotes danger and crime, relating to the Mafia. Relating to mise
en scene, the costumes relate to the genre of film. The men wear suits and are
smartly dressed, and the women are wearing casual dresses but with perfectly
pinned hair. This was the stereotypical fashion for the 40's. The city which
the narrator is describing seems to be again a stereotypical city. However he
implies that not everything is as it seems. This signifies danger and mystery
to the game. In my opinion, this game seems to be a gangster genre with hints
of crime, danger and action. It is a typical man’s game because it appeals to
his adventure side of life.
LA Noire uses colour filters and long but slow
moving shots to show how pleasant “the city” is to an outsider. The wide angle
shots also show how the rest of the people are interacting and going about
their day. Although it may be lightly focusing about a few characters, it's
talking about the city in general. The clip shows different peoples lives and
although everything looks good on the outside and the city is described as “a
city of dreams,” “not everything is as it seems”. The clip seems to be a
performance for a commercial; showing new people what the city looks like and
inviting them into the city, but in reality it seems fake and put on, like the
narrator is trying to cover up the dangerous side to the city.
However, on the other hand, Casino Royale uses a
black and white filter to connote the uncertainty of the characters future and
if he is going to survive. The diegetic sound creates an eeriness to the scene
and allows the viewer to become submerged in the characters actions and what
his fate will be. The long shadows in the office create a deeper effect to the
meaning of the scene. It's not just a normal, proceeded killing, it makes Bond
realises that killing isn't just part of the job, it's personal. The opening scene
uses quick cuts to make the action seem more heightened and frantic, like there
is a panic. It also gives the idea of a POV from the viewer, like they are
blinking and missing part of the story. The low key lighting follows the trend
of danger and wrong-doing. This hints to the viewer the genre of the film and
how the rest of the film will proceed. They use mid shots to show the action
while at the same time the characters expressions, long shots to show the whole
'picture' to the audience and extreme close ups to display true aspects of the
characters personality.
Representation
LA Noire shows peoples everyday lives and jobs and
how the “city” has made their life better. Firstly, it shows how owning a car
is a sign of “freedom” and how without it, your life is constrained. This could
link to the recent past of the great depression and how people were restricted
of life by the amount of money they owned. It goes on to explain how having a
house is like a “castle”, it's each and every persons own bit of land. The
narrator carries on to say that California is a “land of dreams”. This again
reflects how people saw California as a sign of the promised land, because it
held everything people needed: money, jobs and land. Ambient sound is also represented to produce a
common scen effect. The scene also uses
an L cut to produce the sound just
before the next scene to make the edit feel smoother. At the end of the opening
scene, an illuminate reference is given from the narrator. He explains that
this city has “no boundaries and can stretch as far as the eye can see” and as
he says this the camera pans over a building with an eye in a triangle. This
suggests that there is a superstition to the city.
In Casino Royale, singular words make Bond have
memories. In this memory, he is the opposite to everyone else. Instead of
enjoying the cricket game he is watching something else and while everyone else
wears white or light coloured clothing, he wears a black suit as he stands in
the shadows, like he has something to hide. It represents Bond as an outcast to
the norm. As bond chases the victim through the building, the cricket match
carries on, completely senseless of the chaos happening inside. The last shot
in the opening scene is the victim trying to shoot Bond. It shows Bond down the
barrel of the gun. This represents Bond as a target and how he always seems to
be getting into the wrong situations. The blood dripping down the screen symbolizes
the power of blood and how it can save or destroys lives.
In conclusion to this, both LA Noire and Casino
Royale use many micro film elements like mise en scene and sound to create a
good opening scene for a thriller action film and game.
