Recce Shots, Clothing and Ideas So Far

Partner's Blog

I have ideas for certain things already, most of which I have discussed with my partner and he is happy with. I'm still trying to figure out what to include in the scene to make it more exciting, as so far I have only thought of two shots and the idea of an opening monologue. I'm unsure on whether or not to use other actors. If we do include other actors, we'll keep it to a minimum as I am hoping to achieve a sense of isolation. So far, I've thought of character's clothing, two shots involving the character, location of these shots, title effect and placing, an idea of the story (or lack of), possible lighting and ideas for the monologue.

Clothing

For the lead, a character of power is needed. Clothing can illustrate that power. A long, dark overcoat shows the protagonist to be strong and powerful. This convention is used in many films to illustrate the power of a character. Luckily, I have a long, black overcoat that could fit. It has red velvet on the inside, but that will not appear in the scene and so should not be a problem. Here is the overcoat that the protagonist could wear for the opening:

Story, Title, Lighting and Monologue

I think having a monologue that drifts in and out of flashbacks would work. I plan on having shots of the protagonist with the monologue, cutting in and out of something else. I don't quite know yet. Flashbacks could work. I've only thought of bits of the opening so far. The monologue will play over the shots of the protagonist and possibly other shots. It will tell the story of the apocalypse, but won't. The monologue will have enigmas placed everywhere; so much so that there won't be a story. This part is hard to explain and I will go into further detail at a later point, possibly when I have created the monologue. 

As for the lighting, I plan on going for the typical convention of darkness. The protagonist shots will be set at night to create the dangerous and empty feel needed in the opening. The title may have a frost effect and will appear at the very end of the opening. Either that or it will be blasted onto the screen. I feel that the frost idea is different from other films and may be easier to pull off, so that is the one I favour so far.

Recce Shots

The shots I have planned are purely shots of the character. One will be a shot tracking the length of his body, that we may drift in and out of, with him looking on at a town from the tip of a hill. The other shot is a wide shot of him looking on at the town below and will probably be the final shot in the opening. Here are some recce shots I have taken of the location of these shots:

This shot may be used for the tracking of the body, looking over the town below.

Here is a close up of the town.

This one, without the path, may be used for the wide shot, where we can see two towns rather than one; more of a setting. It may also be the final shot of the opening.

These shots are just of the location of filming.