FARGO - Film opening

The film begins with a title card: “THIS IS A TRUE STORY. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly how it occurred.” The title card is presented in white lettering, over a static black. This helps to set a serious tone for the rest of the piece. It may have been employed by the filmmakers so that it may raises questions within members of the audience (such as what exactly happened, who exactly died, etc). It also may have been used by the filmmakers as it helps to sets a time and a place, and gives the film context. Over this title card plays a piece of music, the film’s main theme, which is played on strings. This piece of music may have been used as it helps to conjure up emotions of sadness, moodiness, and melancholy. It may also have been used as it helps to reflect the sadness and desperation of the situation which is about to ensue and as such, helps to set the tone for the rest of the film.

The film then fades to a shot filled with seemingly unending bluish white, the colour of snow. This shot helps to connotes wide open spaces, desolation, desperation.
At this point, the film’s main theme becomes harsher, with much more piercing, violent sounding strings. This may have been done in order to reflect the violent, brutal, unrelenting situation that the characters will soon find themselves in.
On the horizon appears a single, solitary car, driving down a long, deserted road, covered in snow and trapped in fog. With this, the filmmakers may be trying to diverting our attention to the car. They may be trying to imply that the car is out of place here, and that there is something not quiet right about its’ being here.

As the car appears closer and closer toward the screen, the music swells, exploding in cinematic exuberance. This may have been used so that it may serve as a reflection of the situation that the characters find themselves in (i.e., the situation builds and builds before finally reaching a crescendo and than exploding in violence).

When the car exits the frame, the title appears, presented in black: “FARGO.” The car leaves the screen the way it entered it: filled with the same, seemingly unending bluish white. This could be to signify that the events which are about to transpire are seemingly a passing occurrence, and that at the story’s conclusion normality will return and things will carry on the way they were before these dreadful events.

The car is then seen travelling down yet another long, deserted road, out in the middle of nowhere, with nobody and nothing but piles and piles of snow. This helps to reinforce the idea that the car is out of place here, and that the driver of the car may be embroiled in something that is odd, or dangerous, or criminal.

Once the theme reaches its’ final crescendo, the screen fades out and then in on the exterior of a bar located in, according to the subtitle which appears, “Fargo, North Dakota.” The use of this subtitle immediately gives us a sense of where we are, and signifies to us that this is the Fargo of the title. Also, the use of the word “Fargo,” could be a play on the words “Far go,” possibly questioning the audience as to how far the characters will go in the events which are about to ensue. The area outside the bar is also covered in snow, which helps to keep with the continuity, and adheres to a certain motif which has already been successfully established in the world of the film. The car which we saw in the previous scenes pulls up outside the bar. Here, our attention is drawn to both the bar and the car, and may be the filmmakers’ way of signifying to us that an event of great importance is about to take place within the bar.

We then see the interior of the bar. There is tacky country music playing, dull, monotone colours, and fat, middle aged men wearing country, hillbilly-like attire, who are drinking beer and shooting pool. This helps to further reinforce a sense of lowdown, secretive, seedy dealings taking place.

In amongst this enters Jerry Lundegaard, our male protagonist (or, arguably, antagonist). Jerry is dressed in a big beige coat with a simple brown hat and a pair of off brown leather gloves. Jerry’s choice of simple and boring attire could be the filmmakers trying to suggest that Jerry is a simple, boring man, and arguably the embodiment of stereotypical small town, “Minnesota-nice,” American male. With this in mind, this, then reinforces the idea that Jerry is out of place in a bar like this, and that his presence here, his reason for being in this bar at this time, is on the grounds of something which is not quiet right.
Serving as a harsh counterpoint to Jerry’s simple and boring mentality are Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud, two criminals who are seen, seated at a shady lit booth, surrounded by beer bottles, and with cigarettes jutting out of their mouths. Their dialogue with Jerry, especially the way in which Showalter speaks to Jerry, immediately helps to establish the idea that they are the ones in charge here, and that it is Jerry who is the “weaker,” of the three.
This is further reinforced because, as their conversation ensues (their topic of conversation being the kidnapping of Jerry’s wife), the camera begins to slowly push in on Showalter and Grimsrud, so that they occupy more of the frame while Jerry is pushed further and further to the side. This not only helps to reinforce their control of the situation, and that they have the upper hand over Jerry, but it also possibly foreshadows the conclusions of the events.

GOODFELLAS - Film opening

The film begins with the principal cast and crew credits flying in, in quick succession, one after the other. The credits are presented in white lettering against a black background, and they are punctuated by the sound of a car being driven. The car sound effect could possibly have been used in order for the filmmakers to establish, to the audience, a sense of where the opening scene is going to take place.
Then, a title card appears, presented in the same fashion as the credits (white lettering, black background). It reads: “This film is based on a true story.” This title card could have been implemented by the filmmakers in order to show the audience that this film is, first and foremost, based on a true story, and as such, the events depicted within the film are entirely believable and plausible and should be respected as such.
The opening shot of the film is of a 1967 Oldsmobile cruising down a long stretch of road at night. The car may have been used in order for the filmmakers to establish, to the audience, a sense of historical period (late 60s, early 70s). The long stretch of road at night may have been used in order to establish, to the audience, a sense of where this scene is taking place.
There then appears a title card: “New York, 1970.” This may have been placed by the filmmakers in order to reinforce the sense of historical period (60s-70s) that they were trying to convey.
We then cut to the interior of the car. Three people (all men) are in it. Two men (Henry and Jimmy) sit in front. The third man (Tommy) sits in the back, handling a shovel. These men are all dressed in sharp suits from the ‘70s. This, again, helps to reinforce the sense of historical period, and also the idea of professionalism and, arguably, camaraderie amongst the three men (they are all dressed the same, they do the same thing, they share the same ideals, etc).
There is then the repeated sound of loud banging, heard somewhere near/around the car. This is a cause of great concern amongst the three men. They all speculate over what it might be (i.e., a flat tire), and then they come to the conclusion that they need to pull over and see. The sound, and the character’s actions, may have been utilised by the filmmakers in order to indicate to the audience a change, or impending danger, etc.
We then cut to the car, which has been parked in a woodland area. Tommy and Jimmy are standing outside it, and Henry is walking over to them. The banging persists, and it is clear that the noise is coming from something (or someone) inside the trunk. This is reinforced when the camera dollies in on the trunk. The trunk (and, moreover, what’s inside it), is the key focus point in this scene, and the dolly may have been used in order to indicate to the viewer that what is in the trunk is vitally important to the overall piece.
The red of the car backlight shines on Henry, Tommy and Jimmy. This use of red could possibly in order to reinforce the idea of impending danger and bloodshed.
Henry is then told, by Jimmy, to open the trunk. He does. Inside is a man, wrapped in a white sheet. From what we can tell, the man has been beaten, is bleeding heavily, and is struggling to both breathe and speak. The decision to show this man, in this state, at this early stage in the film, could possibly be the filmmakers trying to shock the audience, and also, to indicate that this man, and the circumstances under which he came to be in the trunk, is of great importance to the overall story.
Then, the violence begins. Tommy stabs the man seven times, in cold blood, screaming “Die! Die! Fucking die!” Jimmy shoots the man four times, also in cold blood. The use of violence this early on in the film indicates to the audience that not only will this be a violent film, but that the characters themselves are also violent, and that violence is an accepted, or arguably, expected occurrence in this business of theirs.
Henry walks over to the trunk. As he does, we hear the immortal opening lines: “As far back as I could remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” The use of the opening line not only confirms to the audience exactly who and what these men (and, in particular, Henry) are, but also that this film tells Henry’s story.
Tony Bennett’s “Rags to Riches,” plays as the title and the remaining crew credits appear. The use of this song (which is very upbeat and catch) may have been used to not only serve as a darkly humorous counterpoint to the violence that has just been witnessed, but to also fit in with Henry’s rags to riches life story.

PULP FICTION - Film opening

The opening scene of the film centres around two characters sat talking in a diner. The fact that the whole opening sequence centres on these two people signifies that they will play an important role in the film.
Throughout the opening scene the main camera shots used are medium close ups of the two characters faces, a medium two shot and over the shoulder shots of each other. These are used to show the constant conversation between the two characters and the way they respond to each other. Another shot used is a close-up of the gun on the table. With this shot only being used once it makes it stand out, and shows that the gun is symbolic for the violence in the film.
The couple are immediately shown to be two small-time criminals, as they are sat talking about robbing liquor stores. They aren't shown to be very clever, as they call the waitress garcon, meaning boy. They are also shown to be quite arrogant as they order the waitress around. This shows the audience the types of characters they are and that the film will have a crime theme. The couple are also sat in a diner. This suggests that the film is set in America. We here the woman call the man is 'Pumpkin' and the woman is known as 'Honey bunny'. These are unusual names for criminal characters in films, this gives a sense of humour to it as it doesn’t portray stereotypical gangsters.
The couple are not shown to be very well off as they are eating in a road-side cafe and are not smartly dressed, despite the fact they steal money. The couple also swear a lot, which shows their aggressive attitude.
At the end of the scene the couple stand up, waving guns around in the air, holding up the diner. Honey bunny shouts to the people in the diner, and the scene freezes half way through her sentence, with her voice playing over the frozen screen. Followed by upbeat music while credits play. Ending the opening scene here leaves the film in suspense.

LOCK STOCK & TWO SMOKING BARRELS - Film opening

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL - Film opening

The film starts with non-digetic music which immediately gives off an 80’s jazzy theme, the music that is played is uplifting which attracts the audience, the voice over which is played by a familiar actor named Danny DeVito welcomes the audience in a subtle and welcoming tone introducing the viewers to Los Angeles metaphorically known as ‘Paradise’ also advertising its content and ‘homey’ atmosphere. However this mood changes while the film progresses. Danny mentions how it’s all part of selling an image he also uses an ironic attitude whilst talking about how ‘L.A police forces are the best in the world’.
Moving on, we are shown a close up of a few post cards with one of Los Angeles overlapping the rest; the camera steadily zooms into the post card while we hear a voice over simultaneously. We are then shown recordings of people having fun by the beach, the scenery of L.A, and famous faces of actors and actresses such as Marilyn Monroe; these clips are either shown in black and white film or poorly developed quality to tell the audience the time in which this movie is set. Throughout the clips the voice over goes on but soon changes its style from comforting to devious, this method is successful in getting the attention of the audience as they believe they are getting an insight of ‘trouble in paradise’, as he says.
The clips continue showing us a different side to L.A, issue such as cocaine and prostitution occur and the uplifting music still takes place with the voice over, this degrades the negative mood by using the same tone used for the positive topics at the start.

There is then an establishing low angle shot of a well presented house with several men in suits approaching the front door in the distance and we then hear another digetic sound of the door bell ringing the and cut then to a point of view shot of an officer as the door swings open this makes the audience feel more involved in the situation.
A low mid-shot connotes to show us a bulldog groaning as the police officers state the reason for the characters arrest.
The next few shots are of tabloid head lines which is useful since it shows the audience the aftermath of the actions they just witnessed.
A turning shot first reveals the location from a window then shows us the character to which the voice of the voice-over belongs. We can hear the diagetic sound of the old fashioned type-writer and see the framed magazine covers hung on the background wall, both of which tell the viewers the profession of this character.
The character goes on talking and there is a reverse cut to a close-up plus zooming out motion showing the words he’s saying printed onto the magazine, this happens twice; once for each time he says ‘Hush’. This is rarely used in thriller conventions however it’s a unique and appealing method to draw the audience.

Preliminary Task, AHMED, PART 1

Day 1: Planning and Filming of Preliminary Task

During the time that work was set to commence on my preliminary task, two of the members of my group were away on a trip, so I was assigned, by my teacher, Mr. Hull, to work with Rez, a member of another group.
Prior to this (the previous lesson, in fact), we were shown famous examples of storyboards by our teacher, Ms. Sellars. The storyboards shown were ones by artist J. Todd Anderson, and they were used during the production of Joel and Ethan Coen’s “No Country for Old Men.” These storyboard were shown to us, I believe, in order for us to get an idea as to how we should produce the storyboards for our own pieces, both the preliminary task, and the opening of our fiction film.
We were also shown, by Mr. Hull, examples of scripts. We were shown two in total. The first was the script for Juno, written by Diablo Cody, and the second was a mock-up script penned by Mr. Hull himself. The scripts were shown to us, I believe, in order for us to get an idea as to how we should write our own scripts for our own pieces. I, myself, had had experience writing scripts in the past, but I still felt that this was an enriching and rewarding exercise.
We were then given storyboarding sheets. The descriptions were written by me, and the drawings themselves were drawn by Rez. Both the drawings and the descriptions were simple, but I feel that they were effective and were put to good use considering what they were going to be used for.
Originally, our script for the preliminary task was going to be very minimalistic, with two short, simple lines of dialogue (“Hello,” and “Goodbye.”) This notion was quickly rejected by Mr. Hull. I feel, in retrospect, that this was the right decision. The reason being is that not only would our initial idea have been extremely pretentious, but it would have also been pointless, and would have made no sense whatsoever and would not have been interesting in the least bit, both to make and to watch. The decision we came to was that we should try to make the story told within the preliminary task be simple, but be interesting enough to be watchable.*
We initially handwrote our script, and after giving both the handwritten draft of the script and the storyboard to Mr. Hull for approval, we typed up the script using one of the Macs which is situated in our classroom. We used Courier New 12 Point (the industry standard). The decision to format the script in this was, I feel, a good, worthwhile exercise, if only to maintain a certain level of professionalism.
Then, came the filming of the preliminary task. We used a Sony HD Camera. This camera, I feel, was superior to the XM2 (the other camera that was available to use). The main reason is, I feel, the camera gave the final product the look and feel that it was shot on film, rather than on digital video.
The first day’s filming of the preliminary task took the better part of an hour to complete. We filmed in a corridor and a single classroom, which was just across the way from our Media room. We adhered to the shots described in our storyboards very closely. We used long shots, handheld point of view shots, and over the shoulder shots, all of which were depicted in the storyboard. Although some of the takes we filmed were ruined by passersby and flubbed lines, I feel that this only added to the overall experience of making the preliminary task, which was a very insightful and rewarding one.
Once we had completed filming, Mr. Hull, Rez, and myself viewed the rushes. Although we were happy with ninety percent of what had been shot, there were still some shots that we felt needed to be redone, especially one of the over the shoulder shots, which was shot in such a way that it broke the 180 degree rule, and, therefore, was useless to us. We decided that, since we had another lesson the next day to get the task done, that we would simple redo the over the shoulder shot so that it adhered to the 180 degree rule, and then begin editing the task.

Preliminary Task, AHMED, PART 2

Day 2: Re-filming of Preliminary Task

As was previously stated, the original intention of the next day’s lesson was to re-film the over the shoulder shot so that it would adhere to the 180 degree rule, and then begin our editing. However, our intentions changed when Nancy was assigned to work with us. We decided, right away, that we would completely refilm the preliminary task. This was because we wanted to use Nancy’s inclusion to our advantage, and we felt that the more people had, the better the task would be.
The script was rewritten that day. It was done in order to include Nancy’s input and ideas. We also decided that we would include more diverse shots (including two shots and rethought out over the shoulder shots) in order to make this version of the task much more interesting, stylistic and entertaining than the original version. We also decided to add an element of comedy in to the task, as we thought that it would be more entertaining and much more watchable.
We began filming shortly after the script was rewritten. We shot in the same corridor as before and in our own Media classroom. However, unlike the previous day’s filming, we shot this version of the preliminary task in a non-linear (out of script order) fashion. For instance, we first began our filming with a two shot of Nancy and Rez, which incorporated their characters’ entire dialogue with one another.

Following this, we preceded to shot in script order. We began in the corridor and made our way through the sequences in the script, filming almost nonstop. As with the previous day’s filming, we used long shots, handheld point of view shots, and over the shoulder shots, all of which were depicted in the storyboard. Also, as was the same with the previous day’s filming, some of the takes we filmed were ruined by passersby and flubbed lines, but I feel that this only added to the overall experience of re-filming the preliminary task, which was even more insightful and rewarding than the previous shoot.

After the re-filming of the task had been completed, we viewed the rushes. I, myself, thought that the footage shot on the second day was superior in almost every way to the first day’s footage, and I would have to say that Mr. Hull, Rez, and Nancy agreed with me on this. The second day’s filming was a success, and it was clear that the editing process (which would begin next lesson) would be just as successful.

Preliminary Task, AHMED, PART 3

Day 3: First Lesson’s Editing on Preliminary Task

The next lesson began with Mr. Hull introducing us to to Final Cut. We were shown, by Mr. Hull, raw, unedited footage filmed by the A2 class, in an effort to show us how to create “in,” and “out,” points. Prior to this, I had had some experience in editing, as I have used Sony Vegas 8 on my own personal projects. However, I feel that Final Cut is superior to Vegas in that it is easier to get used to and to learn how to operate.
We then began importing our footage from the tape on to the Mac, using a firewire. The footage was imported in real time, and although this was time consuming, it gave us time to reflect on the quality of the footage, and to decide which takes were suitable to use and which ones weren’t. Most importantly, it gave us the opportunity to get a laugh out of the ruined takes.
Once the footage had been imported, we began editing. We all gave our input, and helped each other figure out how to perform certain tasks on Final Cut (for example, Rez, who had had some experience on F.C., helped me to figure out how to perform cuts on the audio and the video). Although the editing process did have its’ fair share of gruelling moments (the most gruelling being the editing of the conversation which takes place halfway through the piece), I feel that it was a very insightful, interesting experience, if only for the fact that we had the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with F.C., which we would be using to edit our openings to our fiction films.

Once we had completed editing on the task, we added a scrolling title, in order to give us a feeling of both authorship and pride, and to give the task a sense of polish. We watched the completed task over a few times, and I was relatively happy with it, although I did feel that there were some parts that were a bit choppy and needed to be altered/changed, if only to make the final product the best it could be (this was later confirmed as, later that evening, Mr. Hull uploaded the task onto YouTube. The parts of the task that I felt were choppy while watching the task on F.C. were much more evident/obvious whilst watching it on YouTube). They were to be corrected in the next day’s lesson.

Preliminary Task, AHMED, PART 4

Day 4: Final Lesson Editing Preliminary Task and DVD Burning

At the beginning of next day’s lesson, Mr. Hull showed our preliminary task to the class. In addition to the choppy editing during the conversation piece, Nancy’s entrance in to the room needed to be reedited and extended. Overall, Mr. Hull’s decision to show the task to the class was a worthwhile experience as we gained an insight in to the thoughts and perspectives of the class members.

Shortly thereafter, the conversation piece was reedited and the shot of Nancy entering the room was extended. This reediting of certain aspects of the task, I feel, was good as it was a demonstration in some of the mishaps that occur during the editing process, and was, I feel, a worthwhile exercise in that we now know how to deal with events such as this during the editing of the opening to our fiction films.
Once the task had been edited, and the sound had been sweetened, we burnt copies of the task on to DVD. After watching the completed task on DVD, I was surprised by the quality of the camera equipment we had used. This is mainly because, as I have previously stated, the camera equipment used made the task look as if it had been shot on film, rather on video.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how my preliminary task was made. Below is the finished preliminary task:



Thank you very much for reading and watching.

Preliminary Task, DARINE & DIANA

During the time we were set our premilinary me and a member of my group were on a trip which caused us to miss the first few lessons so when we came back we had a lot of catching up to do. We had to come up with a script which was very simple and easy to do so it would be finished on time. We writ our script out and after both of us were happy with them and Mr Hull approved of both are script and storyboard. We typed it up on the computer.
Our next step of the preliminary task was the filming which at first we both felt that it would be hard. However after we got used to using the camera and equipment we found it very easy to film. On the first day of filming we were panicking alot since we felt like we had no time to waste. We filmed in a corridor and a empty classroom so that no people would get in the way.
We followed our storyboard and script which helped us organise everything and know which steps need to be taken. We used a long shot for the corridor, a handheld point of view shot for the conversation and a close-up for the door handle. Even though we had a few problems with people knocking on the door and passersby we still managed to repeat the shot and stay patient so we were able to finish it correctly and on time.
After we finished filming we went to edit it and realised many bits were missing. This really put us down since we didnt have time to waste and also we had to film everything all over again since the clothes we were wearing the next day were different to the ones we filmed in. We had to stay after school and at lunch times so we were able to finish filming and editing it on time.
We had to also change bits of the script since Mr Hull mentioned to us more talking was needed to show a conversation between the two characters. So we added a few more lines so that a shot reverse shot was added to show the conversation. We first began with a long shot of me walking down the corridor. Then we added a close-up as i open the door and walk in to the classroom. And also handheld point of view shots and over the shoulder shots to show the conversation between us.
After we finished all filming and happy with everything we captured all the footage on to Final cut so that we were able to edit it. We didnt have much time for the editing so we decided to come after school and make sure it was done. Since we were very familuar with Final cut we found out very easy to edit it and finished it on time. We put in straght cut transitions and made sure we cut all the bits we didnt need. We finally finished the editing and looked over to see if any bits needed improvement. After a few simple changes and improvements and we were both happy with are final piece. We confirmed with Mr Hull that everything was good so that he uploaded it onto youtube. After all that hard work and panicking we were finally happy with our preliminary task.

TIME OUT OF MIND - One Line Sales Pitch

"A dark crime thriller, set in the underbelly of London, loaded with bullets, broads and blood."

TIME OUT OF MIND - Synopsis

After the credits end, the film begins, and we are introduced to Jerry, a known drug and gambling addict. Jerry lives in a rundown flat in West London with his daughter, Cassie. Cassie, similarly to Jerry, has grown up on the wrong side of the tracks. She has been kicked out of school due to poor attainment and spends her days dossing about with her friends and boyfriend.
Jerry is the type of person who gets great pleasure out of taking risks (through use of flashback, we discover what sort of risks these are). Due to his compulsive gambling nature, he tries to get a poker game going, but due to his past and his reputation, everybody he goes to ends up turning him down. Jerry is then told, by a friend of a friend, about Izabella, a notorious mob boss who operates in and around West London. He is told that she has heard about him, and that, for better or worse, she has agreed to a game of poker with him.
They meet at a pub at night. After the initial pleasantries, the game begins. Jerry starts off betting small, but with a man like Jerry, betting small doesn’t last long. Eventually, Jerry ends up betting five million. Izabella, knowing instinctively that the game is going to conclude with her victorious, gives Jerry a chance to get out and give up. Jerry refuses, and, as a result of his stupidity, he ends up losing the game.
Shortly thereafter, Izabella begins hounding Jerry for her money. She sends some of her people over to one of his haunts in order to get the money from him, but he, of course, does not have it.
Izabella, growing tired and frustrated of him, kidnaps Cassie. Cassie attempts to escape numerous times, but Izabella foils her every attempt.
Jerry, fearing greatly for his daughter’s life, tries to find people who know Izabella in order to get Cassie back. He manages to wrangle together half of the money he owes her as a bargaining method.
Eventually, Jerry meets Ricardo, a pimp and one of Izabella’s ex boyfriends. After Jerry tells him his story and the situation, Ricardo agrees to help him find Cassie, not least because he wants to settle a score with Izabella (we do not know what exactly the score is, but we know, at the very least, that their split was not amicable).
They track Izabella down. A confrontation ensues. She is killed in cold blood by Ricardo. Cassie returns to her father, but she is forever changed due to her experience with Izabella.

The End.

TIME OUT OF MIND - Final Draft Script

OVER BLACK

The drone of a car engine is heard. HOLD, then suddenly a

TITLE CARD appears. There is white lettering, and it is superimposed against a black background: "AN A2D PRODUCTION". HOLD, then

CUT TO

A RED CAR

It whizzes past the screen and out of the frame. HOLD, then

CUT TO

TITLE CARD

White against black: "AN AHMED HONEINI FILM". HOLD, then

CUT TO

THE CAR

It is parked. The door opens. A woman steps out. We do not see her face, only her legs. She is wearing a black leather coat and a pair of black leather boots. She walks away from the car, towards the camera. HOLD, then

CUT TO

TITLE CARD

White against black: "STARRING DARINE BADREDDINE". HOLD, then

CUT TO

CLOSE UP

The woman's hand, as she pops open the trunk.

CUT TO

POINT OF VIEW SHOT, WITHIN THE TRUNK

We see the woman, dressed all in black, loom over us. Our vision is blurred, and as such, her face is obscured. HOLD, then

CUT TO

CLOSE UP

A silver wristwatch. It reads ten p.m. HOLD, then

CUT TO

TITLE CARD

White against black: "AND DIANA EL-SOUSS. WITH KIER HULL AS 'JERRY'". HOLD, then

CUT TO

POINT OF VIEW SHOT

We see the woman, now wearing a black dress, sit in front of us on a black, steel chair. She is smoking a cigarette. We notice that she is wearing ruby red nail polish. Her BODYGUARD stands behind her. Her face is hidden by the dark.

SUDDENLY, she lurches forward, and we see her face. Her name is Izabella. She speaks directly to us:

IZABELLA: Do you have any idea who your father has been dealing with?

HOLD, then

CUT TO

POINT OF VIEW SHOT

Opposite Izabella sits Cassie, a sixteen year old girl. Cassie, on the surface, appears to be the stereotypical "damsel in distress." She is placed on a chair, with her arms and legs bound down with rope. Her hair is a mess,her makeup is smudged, her nose is bleeding, and her lip is split. The sheer white blouse she is wearing is stained with blood.

Cassie is confused and in daze, akin to a drunk in a stupor.

CASSIE: My...My father?

IZABELLA: Yes. Your father. You're your daddy's little girl, aren't you? Let me fill you in on what your daddy's been doing...

HOLD, then

CUT TO

FLASHBACK SEQUENCE

We are in a pub. The atmopshere is seedy. There is tacky music playing in the background, and smoke and grime soak the air (NOTE: The colours have been desaturated to the point of absolute ridiculousness to show the shift in time.)

We see two people (a man and a woman) sitting at a table. They are playing a game of poker. There are an equal amount of spectators on the woman's side as there are on the man's. There is also huge stacks of fifty pound bills scattered all over the table. The woman is Izabella, the man is Jerry, Cassie's father.

CUT TO

CLOSE UP

Izabella. She looks cool, calm and collected.

CUT TO

CLOSE UP

Jerry. He is the polar opposite of Izabella. He is tense and edgy.

IZABELLA: You ready?

Jerry gives a very slight nod.

IZABELLA: You sure? Remember, if I win, you owe me half a million. Are you sure you don't want to give in?

Jerry gives a very slight shake of his head.

IZABELLA: Okay. If you say so.

Izabella tosses her cards on the table. A royal flush.

CUT TO

CLOSE UP

Jerry. This is what he has been dreading.

IZABELLA: Now. Let's see your cards...

Jerry, who has nothing but has lost everything, tosses his cards on the table. A losing hand.

CUT TO

CLOSE UP

Izabella. She has a devilish smile on her face. Her eyes are on Jerry. She gets great pleasure watching him squirm.

IZABELLA: Unlucky, Jer. Unlucky.

She laughs. Hold, then

DISSOLVE TO

CLOSE UP

Cassie, as she is hit by the seriousness of her father's actions.

CASSIE: Oh, God...

IZABELLA: No, dear. God can't help you now...

Izabella gets up. She walks toward Cassie. A spotlight is suspended above her, and it shines very harsh light. Izabella starts circling her (as she does, Cassie begins to squirm). As she does, she says the following, with a very low, but at the same time, very menacing tone:

IZABELLA: I'm a woman of principal. I'm a firm believer in what's fair is fair. If I'd have lost that game, I'd have paid up. It's as simple as that. Your father, he's not a man, he's a worm. He wants to make a fool out of me. Well, I won't be made a fool of. And now, because he has something that's important to me, I have something that's important to him. And if he doesn't give me what I want, I'm going to make you suffer 'til your last breath...

FADE TO:

TITLE CARD

Red over black - "TIME OUT OF MIND."

TIME OUT OF MIND - Outline Of Opening

Plot:

A dark crime thriller set in the underbelly of London, a film loaded with gritty confrontations, bullets, broads and blood. A major deal of money has been lost in a poker game, in which Jerry owes Isabella £1m, Jerry tries to escape paying what he owes and assumes it will cool off. However Isabella is a woman of principal and believes that a deal is a deal and will not be taken as a fool. As Jerry has something that belongs to Isabella, Isabella decides to take something that belongs to him, this is when Cassie comes in, Cassie is a vulnerable 16 year old who gets caught up in her dads dirty deals. In order for Isabella to get what she is waiting for, she kidnaps Cassie as a sign of desperation of time for Jerry.

Characters:
Darine Badreddine as: Isabella (the villain)
Kier Hull as: Jerry (the father)
Diana El-Souss as: School-girl, Cassie (the daughter)
Ahmed Honeini as: Isabella’s bodyguard

Possible Locations:
The Skiddaw: we want to shoot in the Skiddaw public house because we feel it will make a great location to film the poker game. The reason why we think this is because the interior appears to be dark and gloomy, which helps to create an edgy atmosphere reflecting Izabella’s personality and enhancing the seriousness of the situation.
Drama studio (in school): this will be used as Isabella’s den or office, the place in which Cassie is kept while kidnapped, the location is suitable in size and we have the choice of manipulating the light used in the studio for particular shots.
Car / Car-lot or parking area: this is one of the main important locations of the opening, as it sets the scene and film. We chose to have the establishing shot of a car whizzing past in addition of a shot showing Cassie being kidnapped in the boot. This creates a very tense atmosphere and draws in the audience.

Costumes:
Izabella: Always dressed all in black and red nail vanish in order for audience to recognise Isabella even if her face wasn’t showing. Elegant and sassy, but classy.
Cassie: Still in school uniform, green skirt, white blouse and tie to emphasise her youth and innocence.
Bodyguard: Also dressed in all black, possibly wearing glasses to connote power.
Jerry: Out of fashion, not so smart clothes, slightly scruffy in order to give off an inexperienced and risky/edgy impression.

Style/Genre: Crime Thriller
Score/Soundtrack: No soundtrack chosen yet, though we are considering a jazzy score, (i.e., in the style of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, etc).

Target Audience:
The core target audience of the film would probably be men aged 18-30 years old, fans of action and violence would also enjoy a film such as ‘Time Out of Mind’ as it contains a mix of violence blood and hostility. It’s combined with original day-to-day people, showing the consequences they have to pay for doing wrong and getting involved with the wrong people.
We chose this genre because we thought it would include lots of suspense and frequent action, our film is very mysterious but is distinguished later on by the plot structure. We were influenced by films such as ‘Fargo’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’ which encouraged us to think of specific ideas to improve our opening.

25th February 09,

25th February 09 - We brainstormed ideas for our film and decided who was going to do each bit. Also we watched a few films from last year just to give us an idea on what was needed to be done.

26th February 09

26th February 09 - Within our groups we were discussing the locations we needed. We came up with a cafe in queensway which was suitable for us to film in, however we needed permisission from the owners to allow us to film inside it. Me and darine then decided to go and check it out and get permission from the owners. After going all the way to queensway we were gutted to find it closed. While we were getting permission ahmed went out looking for possible locations. When we came back Ahmed showed u s the location he thought was most suitable and we all agreed to film the opening car scene there. It was a also good location since it was a two minute walk from school.

28th February 09

28th february 09 - I spoke to darine about the car shot and if her dad was able to do it. She said that her dad was able to help us out with the car shot since were all under age to drive. We decided to speak to ahmed to let him know and to decide a date to film that shot.

3rd March 09

3rd March 09 - We discussed locations for were it would be more suitable to film. As we came up with alot of different ideas we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using each location. At first we had our intentions on filming in the drama studio, however after asking teachers we were told that were unable to film in the drama studio whenever we want so we decided to come up with another location. Finally we came up with the dark room since it atmosphere is everything we need to film and also we would be able to film any time we want since not much people used it. This was a advantage for us since it solved all our problems. However before starting to film there we had to go check out the dark room to make sure we were able to use it and clear it out. After looking around and asking teachers it turned out that the dark room was great to use and there was no problems.

4th March 09...

4th March 09 - We needed a wig for our main character so we tried speaking to Mr Hull about it to give us a solution and his idea was too do her hair ourselves. However between us we decided that it would be better to order a wig online since it would solve alot of problems and give us more time to concentrate on the filming. We discussed this with Mr Hull and agreed that we would find a suitable wig online and order it. We chose the most suitable wig for the character and showed Mr Hull so that he would order it.

After discussing and making a list what props we needed to start filming, me and darine decided to go oxford to buy the props such as fake blood, white shirt, ruby red nail varnish ..etc. We walked all the way from oxford street to new oxford street and found everything except the fake cigarette we needed for the main character. We were knackered =( .

... 4th March 09

During Wednesday’s Media lesson, we followed through on our plans from yesterday. We conducted camera and lighting tests, and secured locations. Surprisingly, we discovered that, although we had only one working spotlight in the Dark Room, that one spotlight was enough to lit the entire set and give us the exact look and feel that we wanted and that we felt worked best for the film.
Darine and Diana went to secure the location for the pub, while I went and took pictures of possible locations of where the opening shots of the car could be filmed. I took photos of various places (all of which were within walking distance of school), and although I did find some locations that I thought worked well, the best was truly for last. What is meant by this is, the last place where I took photos was the best place I think we can shoot. It is, literally, a two minute work away from school, and it is a cobblestone road which leads to a condemned building surrounded by scaffolds and hazard tape. This location, I feel, gives off the perfect moody and dangerous atmosphere that our film needs, and it can double for the exterior of Izabella’s hideout effortlessly.
The location we wanted to shoot in was closed for the morning, but we decided that we would simply have to continue on with what we were doing. Darine and Diana agreed that they would go on a shopping trip to buy the props and costumes we needed for the next lesson’s shoot. Darine also ordered a wig (which was modelled after Uma Thurman’s in ‘Pulp Fiction,’ and is, we feel, the perfect wig for Izabella’s character [given our intention to pay homage and reference to its’ writer/director, Quentin Tarantino]). The wig would be in for the next afternoon, but not the next morning, so we decided that we would simply shoot Diana’s shots, and try to get all the coverage from all the angles we needed.

5th March 09..

During Thursday’s Media lesson, we conducted further tests, involving lighting, camera, and costume and makeup.
We test shot all the scenes that took place in Izabella’s hideout (the dark room). We shot the dialogue between Izabella and Cassie using conventional techniques, and we tried our very best to adhere to the 180 degree rule. We also decided that we would, on the days of the actual shooting, film point of view shots (from the p.o.v. of both Izabella and Cassie), and also a low angle shot on Izabella (to reinforce the idea of her being a dominant, strong, forceful woman further). Also, we shot Izabella’s monologue handheld, whereby we would be following Izabella circling Cassie as she is sat on the chair, terrified. The decision to shoot this segment of the opening handheld mainly has to do with our desire to give this scene a real life, documentary style look. We were inspired not only by real life hostage videos, but also of a scene in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” which can be found in the link below:



This shooting style will, we believe, add to the terrifying nature of both the film and the situation that Cassie finds herself in.
In addition to this, we also incorporated Darine’s chosen costume and makeup in to the filming of the test. Darine’s chosen costume and makeup, we all feel, is exactly what we had in mind whilst coming up with the character of Izabella, and it makes her character feel much more real and convincing and, more importantly, much more terrifying.

5th March 09

5th March 09 - In the morning we went to the dark room to take some camera tests. We rehearsed and decided what shots would be most suitable to use and how we wanted the lighting to be. After all deciding we did a quick run through the whole scene and filmed it so we had an idea of what needed to be done. After lunch We were so excited to see how the wig would look so we went to Mr Hull to pick it up. Our main character tried it on and it was exactly what we were looking for. We were reliefed that was of our minds. The day before we had planned to film our opening scene today since it was most suitable for darines dad to help us however Ahmed was unable to make it that day which meant to we had to decide to do it another day.

6th March 09

6th March 09 - At break time we decided that we would meet up near school and film the car scene in the evening since it would be dark. We decided to meet up at 6pm since that was the time that was most suitable for us to film. However at 3pm darine texted me and Ahmed saying she had a urgent hospital appointment and was unable to make it and since Darine was the main character we were unable to film. However we spoke to each other and decided we would reschedule it till monday evening instead.

8th March 09..

Today, I made annotations to my copy of the script, which made mention of specific shots and references to films and directors which weren’t currently included in the script. The mentions to specific shots and references to films and directors in the annotations included

• Quentin Tarantino and his frequent use of trunk shots in his films with relation to the opening shots (Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill being the two films that instantly spring to mind when referencing this type of shot),
  
  
  
  
• Sergio Leone and his frequent use of close-ups with relation to the poker scene in the pub (The Mexican standoff at the end of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly being a perfect example of this),
  
  
  
  
• Characters utilised by Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and Tobe Hooper with regards to Cassie and her situation (Marvin Nash in Reservoir Dogs, Billy Batts in GoodFellas, and Sally Hardesty in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre),
  
  
  
  
• Travis Bickle, the character that Robert DeNiro plays in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, with regards to Jerry’s appearance and overall attitude,
  
  
  
  
• Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction, and Elle Driver in Kill Bill in terms of the shooting style and choice of dialogue in the conclusion of our opening.

..8th March 09

8th March 09 - Darine and I listened to different soundtracks that could be suitable for our film. We liked alot however we had to show Ahmed to see his opinion and what he preffered. We saved the websites and soundtracks in able to use them for class tomorrow.

Day One Of Filming ! 9th March 09..

9th March 09 - I met up with darine and ahmed at break to make sure that we were still going to meet up at 6pm. We went over what needed to be done, such as darine had to wear her costume and paint her nails and ahmed had to sign out the camera and tripod for the evening. We decided on what shots we needed to take so that we were organised later on.
At 5pm i met Darine and gave her costume. We got ready and met Ahmed in the location we were going to film in, which is a two minute walk away from school. Darines dad had agreed to help us do the car shots since we were all under age. We did a few practises to make sure the camera was at the right angle and looked how we wanted it to so that it would look right and then filmed are first few shots. It took us a few mistakes to get the angle we needed however after same great thoughts and ideas from all of us we found the right angle we should film from. We then filmed Darine walking out of the car. This took us long to film since Darine was finding it hard walking natural, instead she was walking like a duck and very stiff, even though she didnt realise it on herself. We tried filming it from different angles so that we got it perfect. After looking at it we all were impressed with what we filmed.
It was then time for the boot of the car shot which was my point of view of Isabella. At first Ahmed decided to shoot it however after a few problems we all decided it would be best that i filmed this shot. I then had to climb in the back of the boot to film a point of view shot. It was very dark and scarey :(.. We looked over what we filmed and were all impressed witrh our work.

... 9th March 09

Today, we completed the first four shots of our film. I arrived at the shooting location at around six o’clock, with the tripod, the camera and the tape, and waited for Darine, Diana, and Darine’s father to arrive. I waited for about five minutes, and then they arrived. The car that they pulled up in (the car we were going to use whilst shooting) was exactly what I had envisaged using in the film, and it actually far exceed my expectations.
After they pulled up, we set up the shots. I introduced myself to Darine’s father and apologized for any inconveniences. Then, we began filming. At first, we decided to shoot the car coming straight on in to the frame. However, after viewing the rushes of what we shot straight after we shot it, we decided that it would be much better to shoot from an angle, to add to the odd, eerie atmosphere that we wanted to create. We shot from the aforementioned angle (which was suggested by Darine) and it worked perfectly.
Following this, we shot Darine’s character, Izabella, exiting the car and going to open the trunk. This was a harder shot to obtain then the previous shot, mostly because, when Darine was walking, it looked forced and “put on,” when we needed it to be natural and fluid. We reshot the same shot at least three more times before we got it right, but in the end, we did, and so we continued on with the filming
Then, we shot Darine’s character opening the trunk of the car. We decided to shoot it from a low angle. However, we discovered that we were running out of light, and so we decided to move down the alley to where there was more light. Once we were there, we decided that the shots would need to be reshot, to keep continuity. This was an easier task then it sounded, as we got the necessary shots that we needed and felt were the best we could do in less than five minutes.
Finally, we shot the “trunk shot.” After the shot was filmed, we viewed the rushes of that shot, and we decided that we got the shot exactly right.
And, thus, filming was completed for the day. We were all happy with what we had filmed. We decided to shoot the main chunk of the film (the scenes in the Dark Room) tomorrow and Wednesday.

11th March 09

This morning during our lesson, we decided to re-do a few shots in the dark room, to be sure of any minor problems or missing shots, things went really well and we finished shooting and decided to go to Queensway to shoot in a cafe for our next scene. Everything was running smoothly until i realised that i had forgotton the prop bag in school (typicall me), so diana and i had to quickly go back and get it, so we could start filming as soon as possible. when we finally arrived, ahmed showed us a few shots which he had taken of himself while were gone, in order to save time. from then we all contributed in different ideas of angle shots, and focused on face expressions and movement, as we all decided that there was going to be no dialogue in this scene due to insufficient duration left for our film opening. apart from the fact that i was constantly laughed at from many customers coming into the cafe (as well as Mr Hull.) because of my weird looking wig, i guess i could say that we worked efficiently as a group, although at times things got a bit hectic, but we were able to keep it under control and managed to work thoroughly through this film making as we each played our roles and filled out each task which was assigned to each member of the group.

17th March 09

Unfortunately, I was unable to make today's lesson as I was away on a Business trip. However, I was informed by Diana and Darine that a majority of the editing process was complete and that tomorrow we would go over what was edited and see what needed to be altered and what was suitable for the effect we were going for.

19th March 09

Today, a temporary score for our film was created. This score will, hopefully, accentuate the mood and atmosphere that we’re going for. The score was created using Garageband, and I feel that this was a very worthwhile experience since it added new light on the quality of the footage that we shot. There are some parts of the score that I feel, instinctively, will need to be altered or replaced, but since this is a temporary score, I feel it was worth a try nonetheless. I am very excited to show Darine and Diana the film with the temporary score tomorrow and to get their input and opinions on it.

'Time Out Of Mind' - Film Influences

In terms of what influenced us during the research and planning stage of this film, five films and one director instantly spring to mind. They are: “GoodFellas,” “Chinatown,” “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Kill Bill,” “Fargo,” and Quentin Tarantino.

“GoodFellas,” is, arguably, the single biggest influence on this film. Martin Scorsese’s direction and Michael Ballhaus’ cinematography, along with the costumes, the dialogue, and the overall look, fell and mood were huge influences on us. Scorsese’s work has influenced many people, our group included, and we want to use this film as a way of paying homage to him, honouring him, and even paying reference to him (this is most evident in the way in which we plan to begin our film [with a car cruising past the screen and out of the frame]).



“Chinatown,” with regards to the character that Faye Dunaway plays, is another big influence on this film. Dunaway plays Evelyn Mulwray, a classic example of a femme fatale. Izabella’s character is based largely on Evelyn, especially with her costume, her dialogue, and the role she plays in the film. Also, with this film, we want to subvert the stereotypical role of women in film with our film. We want Izabella’s character to be menacing, strong and tough, whilst at the same time not losing any of her femininity. We also want for there to be an element of mystery about Izabella’s character. All the audience are told about her is surface information, and so this will allow for the film to be an active, rather than a passive, watching experience, and the audience will be required to do some of the work for themselves, rather than us doing all the work for them. This, we believe, will allow the film to be a richer, more satisfying experience.



“Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels,” with regards to its’ classic poker scene, is another huge influence on this film. The poker scene in “Lock, Stock,” is an extremely tense scene, and makes the audience feel very edgy, very nervous. We want for the poker scene in our film to make the audience feel the same, and, perhaps, even more so. Also, in terms of the way the scene in “Lock, Stock,” was shot, we want to pay homage to Guy Ritchie and his film, in a similar manner to how we want to pay homage to Martin Scorsese and “GoodFellas,” by paying reference to “Lock, Stock,” in our film. This includes lifting lines of dialogue and shots from “Lock, Stock,” and using them in our film, in order to show to the audience that we know these films and appreciate them, and hope that the audience know these films and appreciate them as much as we do. This, we hope, will heighten the experience the audience get from watching the film.








“Kill Bill,” with regards to its’ female characters and dialogue, are another influence on this film. Izabella’s character, whilst being influenced by Faye Dunaway’s character in “Chinatown,” is also influenced by the character that Darryl Hannah plays in the film, Elle Driver. Elle, similar to Evelyn, is a femme fatale, and is strong and tough but not in the least bit masculine. This character is a huge influence on Izabella’s character, not least in the way she is dressed (with lots of use of black), but also her dialogue, and the way in which she asserts herself on to those she views as being weaker then herself.



“Fargo,” with regards to the kidnapping plot and the character that William H. Macy plays, is another influence on this film. Our film revolves around the kidnapping of Cassie, a seemingly stereotypical damsel in distress. The kidnapping drives the film, as it is what the first half of the film, after the opening credits of course, leads up to, and then the conclusion of the film is the consequence of this kidnapping.* Also, William H. Macy’s character, Jerry, is another influence on this film. Macy plays a wormy, sleazy character called Jerry Lundegaard who arranges for his wife to be kidnapped in order to secure her father’s fortune. Cassie’s father is called Jerry, and he, similarly to Macy’s character, is a wormy, slimy, sleazy little man, whose actions lead to his daughter’s kidnapping. In regards to our desire of wanting to subvert gender stereotypes, we want Jerry and Izabella to be polar opposites of each other. Whilst Izabella is strong, level headed, and somewhat noble, Jerry is weak, selfish, and stupid. In making Jerry this way, it is our intention to subvert the stereotype that men are the protectors and the ones who make the best decisions, whilst women need to be protected and are the ones are incapable of following through with anything.



Finally, Quentin Tarantino is another gargantuan influence on this film. From his strong female characters, to his ultra sharp dialogue, to his encyclopaedic knowledge of films, Tarantino and his work have influenced us largely, if only for the fact that his films are extremely stylish, memorable, and refreshing, and we want to make this a film that can measure up to his own, and to make this the best film we can given our own knowledge of the film medium.

Sources of inspiration

The makers of this film would like to thank the following sources of inspiration:

Martin Scorsese
Quentin Tarantino
Joel and Ethan Coen

Shot Ref.

1. Medium shot – Car (Completed, 09th March 2009)
2. Medium shot – Izabella exiting car (Completed, 9th March 2009)
3. Extreme close up – Izabella opening trunk (Completed, 9th March 2009)
4. Trunk shot/handheld shot/point of view – Cassie (Completed, 9th March 2009)

1. Medium close up – Izabella (Completed, 11th March 2009)
2. Medium close up – Cassie (Completed, 11th March 2009)
3. Point of view – Izabella (Completed, 11th March 2009)
4. Point of view (1) – Cassie (Completed, 11th March 2009)

1. Two shot – Jerry (Ahmed) and Izabella (Completed, 11th March 2009)
2. Close up – Izabella (Completed, 11th March 2009)
3. Close up – Jerry (Completed, 11th March 2009)
4. Close up – Izabella’s cards (Completed, 11th March 2009)
5. Close up – Jerry’s cards (Completed, 11th March 2009)

1. Handheld tracking shot – Izabella (Completed, 11th March 2009)

Song choices

In order to achieve the downbeat, edgy sound and feel that we were going for, we looked at a number of different songs for inspiration. Such songs included:

Tricky – Hell is Round the Corner -



Led Zeppelin – Dazed and Confused -

Scene choices

As our film is (in part) a homage to such filmmakers as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, we thought it appropriate to look at the work of these masterful filmmakers in order for us to gain inspiration for our own work and make the best film that we can under the circumstance. Such scenes that we referenced/took inspiration from include:

Goodfellas – Pre credit sequence (arguably, the biggest influence on our film)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Dinner Table Scene

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels – Poker Scene


Reservoir Dogs – Ear Scene


To be continued.

Costume & Props (1)

1) Black shirt (seen in the poker flashback scene)
This shirt was selected to be worn during the shooting of the scene mainly because it helped to give my character a sense of mystery, ambiguity, and danger. Nearly all of the characters in the film (save for Diana’s character, Cassie) wear black, and black is a colour which is synonymous with crime and dirty, underground dealings, and since Jerry’s character is the epitome of this, we felt that black was the only colour that was suitable for his character to wear. As aforesaid, nearly all of the characters in the film wear black, and since the main colour coordination in our film is black and red, we also felt that black was a suitable colour for the character to wear since it helped to maintain a sense of continuity throughout the piece.

2) Glasses (seen in the poker flashback scene)

These glasses were selected to be worn during the shooting of the scene mainly because, when I wore them, they helped me give off a certain eerie and untrustworthy vibe, which was essential to the character that I was playing. They are also oddly similar to the glasses that Dustin Hoffman’s character wears in Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs,” a film in which Hoffman plays “a man on the edge,” similar to the character of Jerry in our film, so we felt that this similarity was more than fitting and decided to go with it.

Production Logo

Posted above is our production company logo. It features three playing cards, with each letter or number of our production company in black, "A2D," with the word "Productions," in red underneath the three cards, and this is all superimposed over a solid black background.

There are several reasons as to why we chose this production company logo:

1) Playing cards play a vitally important part in our film, and we feel that this is in keeping with a motif which is recurrent throughout the entire film.

2) There are heavy uses of black and red in not only the production company logo, but throughout the entire film as well. This, too, helps to stay in keeping with a particular motif, a particular colour scheme, which appears throughout the entire film, also.

3) In terms of aesthetics, this production company logo is, we feel, very unique and eye-catching, and this is yet another reason why we chose to use it.

Credits

An A2D Production

An Ahmed Honeini Film

Darine Badreddine

Diana El-Souss

Photography by Ahmed Honeini and Diana El-Souss

Editing by Darine Badreddine and Diana El-Souss

Produced by Darine Badreddine and Diana El-Souss

Written and Directed by Ahmed Honeini

TIME OUT OF MIND

Time Out Of Mind - Animatic (Storyboard)

Here is the animatic for our storyboard. It details all the key shots and features a nice bit of music. ENJOY!!

Font, Title, Running Order Of Credits

1) Font. The font which we decided to utilise was, we felt, very much in keeping with the overall atmosphere, mood and tone of the overall piece, and in keeping with the sort of dark, grungy ambience we were trying to create. The titles are presented in white with a red tint. This, also, we felt was not only very much in keeping with the atmosphere and tone of the piece, but it also established continuity, conforming to a motif which is recurrent throughout the film (i.e., heavy uses of red, black, etc).

2) Title. The title of our film is "Time Out of Mind." There are three reasons as to why this is. #1) We felt that this title was original and distinctive, but at the same time odd and strange. We were trying to create a film which went against stereotypical rules and conventions of the crime thriller genre, and we felt that this title was an extra added touch in our creation of a film which not only wanted to subvert the rules and conventions of the crime thriller genre, but also to completely shatter them, as well. #2) A large part of the story line revolves around time. The latter half of the film involves the main male character, Jerry, racing against time to find his daughter and save her from the evil clutches of her captor, Izabella. #3) From the film's initial inception, we originally intended to open and close the film with a brief shot of a wristwatch, which would have been utilised in order to convey the passing of time, and it (time) is a very special, very sacred thing to these characters, who must race against it in order to live and fight another day.

3) Running order of credits. The order of the credits are as follows: Director, Leading Actresses, Leading Actors, Editors, Producers, Writer and Director. There are a number of reasons as to why we decided to put the credits in this particular order. The first is that, we feel, this order conforms to rules and conventions of film in general. We are following a very set, very traditional set of guidelines, guidelines which we would like to, out of a desire for strict professionalism, adhere to and not subvert or alter or change simply for the sake of it. The second is that, as is stated, the Leading Actresses are placed before the Leading Actors. This was done because not only do the female characters have more screen time than the male characters, but also that, since this is a film about female empowerment and about the subversion of the stereotypical role of women in crime thrillers, it seemed fitting to put the Leading Actresses first.

Evaluation 1) INFLUENCES ON FILM OPENING - COMPARE AND CONTRAST

There are three films which greatly influenced our film opening. They are:

1. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
2. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
3. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Guy Ritchie, 1997)

Goodfellas is comparable to our film in that:

1. Both films revolve around kidnappings. For example, in Goodfellas, a big-time gangster, Billy Batts, gets beaten, kidnapped, and then killed in a forest in the middle of nowhere. In Time Out of Mind, a young girl, Cassie, is kidnapped and held hostage by Izabella, a big-time gangster.
   
2. The way in which the opening to both films are shot. Both films employ quick, teasing shots, which give the viewer a sense of where they are, and what the situation is, but not the complete picture.
   
3. The use of props and setting. Both openings use cars to symbolize a kidnapping or a crime, and both openings use secluded areas to perpetuate their crimes.
   

Goodfellas contrasts to our film in that:

1. Goodfellas is, on the whole, much more male orientated (i.e., the title itself). The villain in Time Out of Mind is a woman, and here, our intention is to subvert the stereotypical role of woman in the media and, in particular, in crime thrillers. With the idea of subverting stereotypical female roles in mind, another way our film contrasts to Goodfellas is that the kidnapping victim in that film is a middle-aged man, while in our film, it is a 17-year-old girl. Here, our intention is to heighten the threatening nature of our female villain, which will, in turn, further reinforce the subversion of stereotypical gender roles.
   
2. The use of music. While Goodfellas uses almost no music (save for the use of Tony Bennet's Rags to Riches), our film use music almost continuously, helping to create the moody, downbeat atmosphere that we are going for.
   
3. The language/dialog used. Goodfellas' use of dialog is very sparse, and the language is very harsh (i.e., the use of profanities from the first few lines). Our film, on the other hand, concludes with a monologue, and also, there are no uses of profanity.

Pulp Fiction is comparable to our film in that:

1. Izabella's (Darine's) character in relation to Mia Wallace's (Uma Thurman's) character in Pulp Fiction. This is in terms of not only their appearance (which are intentionally similar), and also their reckless attitudes and natures.
   
2. Structure. Our film starts with action seen in the middle, whilst Pulp Fiction starts with action which is seen toward the end.
   

Pulp Fiction contrasts to our film in that:

1. Pulp Fiction is, like Goodfellas, more male orientated, and two men are shown as being the central characters. They are likable, and we champion them throughout he film. With our film, it is more geared toward a female audience, with a woman being the villain and holding power over the man, who is described as being a "worm." Although our film does follow a male character, he is not intended to be likable and we certainly do not wish for our audience to champion his actions.
   
2. Although our film begins with action seen in the middle, after the opening, we intend to tell our story in a linear order, with the action leading to and concluding from the action seen near the beginning. With Pulp Fiction, Tarantino decided to show it in a non-linear order, in order to create a novel-style universe.

Lock, Stock compares to our film in that:

1. Both feature a poker game as major plot devices. Also, the way in which the game is shot are very similar in style to one another.
   
2. Both films are set in London and and feature British gangsters.
   

Lock, Stock contrasts from our film in that:

1. Lock, Stock is much more male orientated, with men being portrayed as dangerous, threatening figures, while our film is geared more toward a female audience, and showing women as the strong, powerful ones, who have absolute power over the weak, "worm-like," men.
   
2. Lock, Stock is much more comedic, while our film takes itself much more seriously.

2) HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PATICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

We were influenced by films such as ‘Fargo’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’ which encouraged us to think of specific ideas to improve our opening. Our main character Isabella plays a young sassy but classy villain and our opening reveals her daring and fearless nature. Isabella’s persona is comparable to Uma Thurman from Pulp Fiction which was our main influence; her sophisticated, edgy and confident personality is exactly what we wanted for our character Isabella.

As you can see in this picture of Uma Thurman (left) is wearing all black, black heels, short Black hair, red lipstick and a cigarette in her right hand. We used this theme for our character Isabella (below) as we thought it gave her a very mysterious and dangerous look. This also links to the idea of our main theme of red and black, as you notice throughout the opening.

3) WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PROUDUCT AND WHY?

We believe that the media institutions that might distribute our media product would be Warner Bros or Miramax since they both specialize in crime thriller films and have a good reputation. For example Warner Bros produced Goodfellas, one of the best crime thriller films along with Miramax, who produced Quentin Tarantino’s classic Pulp Fiction.

4) WHO WOULD BE THE AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?

The core target audience of the film would probably be men aged 18-30 years old. We checked if this was correct by searching on BBFC.co.uk it made it easier for our group to classify what criteria was appropriate for our film, although we couldnt choose between 15 or an 18, after reading each criteria we agreed on an 18 rating. This is because our film consists of Violence that may be strong and dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, agressive language and drugs.

Fans of action and violence would also enjoy a film such as ‘Time Out of Mind’ as it contains a mix of violence blood and hostility. It’s combined with original day-to-day people, showing the consequences they have to pay for doing wrong and getting involved with the wrong people.
We chose this genre because we thought it would include lots of suspense and frequent action, our film is very mysterious but is distinguished later on by the plot structure.

5) ATTRACT/ADDRESS AUDIENCE?

1) This shot features our main character, our villainess, Izabella, staring down in to the camera, looming over us, dressed in red, with her face obscured in shadow, and with an evil grin on her face.

In terms of costume, Izabella is wearing a red coat. Red is a colour associated with violence and danger, and also it is a colour synonymous with femininity and female sexuality. Also, the type of costume the character is wearing is a coat, but a coat typical to that of a woman’s taste. As such, Izabella’s character does not lose her femininity in order to gain strength (i.e., having to wear clothes synonymous with the male psyche in order to be empowered). She maintains her femininity through her costume whilst at the same time being the strongest character in the film.
In terms of camera shot, the shot employed is a low angle point of view shot, filmed in a shaky style. This helps to place us in the shoes of this character, and also gives the scene a sense of immediacy or, in other words, draws our attention immediately to the action. It also helps to heighten the sense of eeriness and the sinister atmosphere that we were trying to create. Finally, it immediately portrays Izabella, our leading female character (villainess) as being empowered, the one in charge, the one who we (as the audience) and the remaining characters in general, have to be fearful of. Again, this shot helps to reinforce the role of strong women in the film.In terms of location, the location is unknown, to both the audience and the character in the trunk of the car. This helps to conjure up a feeling of dread and doubt within the audience. They have no idea where they are, just as the character in the trunk has no idea where they are, and so they are seeing the events through this character’s eyes moment by moment. To quote Quentin Tarantino, “Cinema doesn’t smooth things along, move things along – we’re stuck there.”

2) These two shots feature our two leading female characters. Izabella, sitting on a chair, with a cigarette in her hand, dressed all in black, looking into the camera, at us (the audience) and Cassie, the girl she has held captive. Cassie, tied down to a stool, hair mussed up, bloody chin, split lip, bloody shirt, looking down on the floor, from the point of view of Izabella.
In terms of costume, Izabella is dressed all in black, whilst Cassie is wearing a white shirt stained in blood. The choice of colour here is intentional; Izabella, dressed all in black, signifies to the audience a sense of darkness and, to a lesser extent, monotony about her character. Izabella is the complete antithesis to Cassie’s character. She represents darkness (the “whore”), while Cassie represents light (the “Madonna”). Izabella and Cassie are polar opposites of each other, but Cassie is not as innocent or naive as she seems, because, at the film’s conclusion, she finally realizes what sort of a man her father is, and, because of Izabella, she is forever changed and sees the world, and men like her father, in a whole new “light.”
In terms of camera shot, the two shots are point of view shots, with both characters looking head-on at each other. Our intention with these two shots is to, again, put the audience in the shoes of these two characters, so that they were not put to the side but are, rather, dragged into this situation, with little or no say in the matter. We want our film to be an active, rather than passive, experience. We do not want the audience to simply sit and watch our film in an unreceptive manner; we instead want them to be part of the action and to feel as though the action in the film is happening to them.

In terms of location, this location, too, is unknown. This helps to reinforce the eeriness of the piece and the surreal atmosphere which we were trying to create. Also, the heavy use of black reinforces not only the dark and brooding atmosphere which we were trying to create, but also the lowdown and dirty situation that is playing out in the film.

3) This shot features an over-the-shoulder shot of Izabella, during her poker game with Jerry (wearing a black shirt), with Jerry looking uncertain, but at the same time, determined to win and assert his masculinity.
In terms of costume, there is heavy usage of the colour black. Black, like red, is a colour closely associated with violence, danger and dirty dealings. Also, red and black are two colours seen almost continuously throughout the entire film, and not least the opening, and so this helps to maintain continuity, and does not seem to the audience to be at all out of place. Also, the use of black signifies to the audience that Jerry is just like Izabella; no better, but much, much worse. It helps to signify that he lives the same type of life she does, a life full of crime and uncertainty and risk, but crucially she, unlike he, has the upper-hand on him. Also, the use of the glasses make him appear eerie, creepy and untrustworthy. The use of the glasses, again, does not seem at all out of place in the larger context of the film.
In terms of camera shot, this shot is an over-the-shoulder shot, seen from Izabella’s point of view, which once again places her in a higher position of power than Jerry. We are seeing the events from her perspective, since the flashback is, essentially, her retelling of the events that transpired during the poker game. Also, this use of use foreshadows to the audience that Izabella is the game’s winner, since we can see her cards and can tell that she has a winning hand. Further, The use of black and white photography during the flashback helps to conform to the rules and conventions of filmmaking. Not only that, but also, the use of the black and white photography itself is in keeping with the colour scheme prevelant throughout the entire film (i.e., with its’ heavy uses of black and red). The use of the B&W does not seem at all out of place. Instead, it is expected, as it fits in with the continuity of the piece and conforms to the rules and conventions.
In terms of location, this location is, too, unknown, although, from what the audience can surmise, the scene takes place in a pub or a cafe of some sort. The decision to set the scene this location, which appears to be closed and isolated, is so that this reinforces the lowdown, dirty situation that transpires within the film. The card game is meant to be a very inconspicuous, secret event, with both characters not wanting to draw attention to themselves. Our intention here is to make the audience feel as if they are being let in on a secret, and the use of location, black and white photography, quick cuts and tight angles signifies this.