Film Opening Remakes

Initially we thought that 'Memento' (2000) would be the hardest of the three to film, but with great organisation, the filming ran smoothly and  we ended up with a finished product which we all are satisfied with.
We had great difficultly organizing props, but was resolved with a quick drawing which symbolized the props, such as the gun and the Polaroid photograph and used the sound effects provided on i-movie to make it look and sound realistic.
In order to get the best shots, we decided to film handheld as the tripod was unreliable, so we used what we had in order to film to the best of our ability to film according to our shot list and time limit. We found that filming handheld, shots we more accessible and we spent less time changing the settings on the tripod. We did not have time to change our equipment, as we had to make sure we had enough time to finish the editing in time for our deadline.
Editing was a simple process as we had had practice from the previous remakes. We had to make sure the timings were right as we thought this was to be the most difficult text to edit, as it involves a lot of shots.
A problem we had with editing was that we had to figure out how rotate a shot as we filmed it the wrong way, but we had no choice as we had to fit in the whole shot.
We repeatedly watched the opening sequence and consulted with the shot list to make sure we had the right shots and timings.
Overall we are pleased with our final product, and the group has gained great organisation skills, and communication skills within the group to film and finish to the best of our ability.



As a group we effectively filmed this in the first lesson of filming, which was rewarding and gave us more time to film the most difficult of the three which was memento.
We also filmed this handheld, as the dolly was broken, but was not a problem as we seemed to produce a steady shot and we worked effectively to make sure we got the filming done. It was difficult to get a smooth panning but with a few practice shots, we finally got two that we were satisfied with.
Initially we thought this would being the easiest to edit as the titles are at the start of the text, but this was the clip that we spent most editing as we found it hard to get the fade to black transitions and timings correctly.
As we thought we could not get the beginning timings right, we had to speed up the voice over to make it fit with the opening.
This is the text that we found easiest to film but the hardest to edit. What we could have to done to improve was to consult our teacher to make sure that we had the timings right and show how to use the facilities to create the effect that we needed.
Overall our group is moderately satisfied with our final product, however we are not satisfied with our timings. What we have learnt is to make sure we find out how to use the facilities so we can complete the task properly.




Within the Juno (2007) there was a lot of different parts and settings that needed to be used. We found that it was hard to film using a dolly as we were on the road and made it hard for the dolly to move down the road and it turned out really shaky and bumpy. We decided that it would be best to film the whole opening hand held, it was a little bit shaky at some points but overall we were able to keep control over the camera.
We filmed the different shots and scenes in the wrong order to save time on changing settings, we made the most of two or three different settings and changed it a little with props or small things that are seen in the background to make it look at though it was filmed somewhere else to the previous scene.
We filmed the majority of the opening in one day so we were able to have the same weather and background but we found that due to the amount of time it took to film we had to film on a different day as well.
The editing took quite a long time to do as there were so many different scenes and settings that were used, we had to put them in the correct order and cut bits that weren't correct or didn't look as good as it could do. We had to change each cut after a certain point in the opening to make it look as though its a cartoon, which took time as there were so many cuts in total.
Finally we added the titles which was really easy to as the titles that were used are just block capitals and plain colours.

Filmed and Edited by Amy Welsh, Laura Thomas, Lauren Dinnes & Jess Foster
Individual Written notes by Jess Foster

We were given a task to re-make three film openings from selected genres in order to prepare us for our main task.
As a group we decided that we would remake the films Juno (2007) from the comedy genre, The Strangers (2008) from the horror genre and Memento (2000) from the thriller genre. We picked these openings as we felt they would be a challenge for us and therefore give us a good insight in to what the actual making of our own film would be like.
We brainstormed many ideas on how we were going to remake our film openings, what settings we were going to use and need, what props were appropriate and the costumes that would be needed.
We made a storyboard of each individual shot with timings of when the shot starts and finishes along with the titles. As well as a shot list of all details including costumes and settings this enabled us to easily re-make when it came to filming as we could refer to this for each shot.
As a group we divided tasks of creating storyboards and shot lists evenly in order to prepare and to ensure we were ready to begin filming as quickly as possible and this helped us effectively work together.
We then filmed and edited each opening to re-create the real thing.

The reason why we carried out this activity was to give us an idea on existing film openings and aid us when it came to making our own as it gave us an insight on how to film and edit openings and the content of these openings. It helped us to realise not to over-complicate our opening. By re-making the openings to existing films it showed us the real difference between a film opening and a film trailer, we gained the insight needed to identify the differences and what we should include to make our own film opening.

As a group, we believe that we did well in this task, with organising our time effectively and improvising with any inaccessible items in school time. For example we used ketchup for the blood in the Memento film opening.
To improve we could of taken more shots whilst filming as when we came to edit the re-makes we realised that we hadn't perfected some of the filming and acting and therefore had to re-do them. This then took up some valuable editing time.
Overall our films turned out to be very close and very alike to the original openings which has meant that it has helped us on how to create our own film openings to an effective and high standard.

Written notes by Amy Welsh & Laura Thomas