Reminiscence - Opening Scene Shot List

Opening Scene
During the opening sequence we decided that we would need to utilise several other camera shots while still including some of the staples of the genre to make sure that the intention of the film did not wander but also that the film itself remained watch able and full of fresh content for the viewer.

For the News segment of this portion of the film we decided to utilise mid shot's and medium close ups, the former was used as the second shot in the news reported and incorporated a low angle to give the reporter a more authoritative tone while at the same showing her insignificance in the presence of the street buildings that tower over her, the panning towards the housing is done to emphasise the latter point. The MCU's were used as they allowed us to adequately portray the emotions on the reporters face as she read the broadcast, at certain points highlighting her fear and dread at being on the scene of a crime committed by the killer. MCU's are also a stereotypical shot used of news reporters in real broadcasts and we thought it would be best to follow the styling and conventions utilised by the real world versions to create realism.

1. Date in white text flies in from left while the time flies in from the right, also in white, introduces audience to setting, left year less to purposely make the audience prey on the idea that it could of happened recently.
2. Mid Shot of Reporter, lasts about 10 seconds as she informs the public of the terrible news in the traditional news camera range.
3. Mid Close Up on a Low-angle with a slight pan to the left, shows the reporter as the authority on this subject but also shows her insignificance as the buildings behind her tower above her.
4. Close Up, as the reporter concludes the attention is firmly focused on her and her message before a slight zoom out to return viewers back to the full picture.
5. Fade to the news logo with Jingle.

The next segment of the opening scene features the protagonist of the film, Shane and his teenage friend Josh, the initial shot is an extreme close up of a ringing phone, this shot reintroduces the genre of the film by again restricting the information the audience has access to, the cut from the news sequence is sudden and therefore gives the audience no idea of where this phone is, creating disorientation and confusion. 

We then switch to a mid shot of the antagonist as he answer's the phone, this shot was used as it allowed us to capture the full range of emotion shown through the characters body language as he becomes increasingly worried when his friend fails to reply. This sequence of shot reverse shots then features an extreme close up of an unknown characters face, this shot combined with the previous utilises the 180 degree rule as the character is facing the opposite direction the other. The extreme close up was done to add mystery and promote fear when combined with his words, the hidden face of the character utters the words "Josh is gone he's not here no more", this combined with the shot choice makes the character appear threatening and powerful. Another mid shot of the antagonist follows as he displays increasing amounts of distress and frustration. We then see a mid shot of his friend on the sofa, relieving the tension in the scene and introducing the character and part of his nature. Two long shots of the characters are then used, still utilising the 180 degree rule to give a better impression of their surroundings and feed more information to the audience. The second of these two shots utilising tracking on Josh before switching to a match on action cut as he approaches the window, revealing a dark street full of mystery and danger.

6: Extreme close up of a ringing phone, places importance on the phone call while restricting  the view of  surroundings to the audience.
7: Mid shot of Shane answering the phone, shows the nature of the character through full use of body language.
8: Extreme Close up of Josh as view of his face is restricted, he appears to be more intimidating, especially when coupled with a voice changer box.
9: Close up of Shane as he struggles to comprehend what has happened to his friend, develops his character more through use of facial expressions and tone.
10: Mid close up of Josh on the sofa chilling, reveals the nature of his character and lowers audience tension levels as they realise he was just joking around.
11: Mid shot of Shane, shot shows him more relaxed as the camera tracks his movement and his posture is less defensive, gives the audience a good look at the characters living area.
12: Mid close up of Josh as he is told about the murders, worried he gets up and heads to the window as the camera tracks his movement.
13: Match on action cut to an Extreme close up P.O.V shot as Josh looks out of the window, only to see nothing but darkness, tension levels rise in the audience as they have no idea what is out there as the shot fades to black.