First and final frames

These are each on the left a picture of the first frame and on the right the same film but a picture of the last frame shown to us. Some of them are very similar and pretty much identical to each other which shows us a clear loop in the film however some of them are not as relatable to each other. The idea of starting and ending with the same frame/sequence is very clever because it explains the story an extra bit and shows the difference between the start and end well including how a character might have changed, some of them look like the character is looking at what was happening in the other scene but we don’t know that when we watch the start because we are unaware of the ending.

When producing your own film it is good to think about how you can link the first and last frame together wether it is it being opposite showing a change in emotion, environment or transitional technique. These will show the story and the journey took from start to finish. Another way you can do this is similarities and trying to mimic the first frame with the last you can do this to make the audience believe it is a loop and the story is about to happen agin to the character or you can use it to show how far a character is come because them doing the same action can have a different meaning based on what you have seen them go through it is very subtlest works well. Just a simple colour tone with a very identical image can show the change in the character and their emotions with what the colour represents. Thinking about these shots are very important and can be the key to a good video/film. When planning your film it is a good idea before anything to sit down and think of around 5 or more ideas of a first frame and last frame and what they can mean to the story.

This video explains why it is important to have a good first frame and what it can tell the audience by the smallest thins i.e what the characters body position is, what they’re doing and what the camera movement is doing and why it is doing that. If the opening scene is a group of people and the camera pushes forward on one of them it is clear the story is about them. So if you want to show a confident character make them do big actions and face towards the camera showing they are open, maybe a low camera angle looking up will make them seem big and looked up upon however if you are introducing a more quiet and shy character they should have a different posture and angle maybe crossing their arms shows they are more of an introvert. This will give the audience a feel to the characters quickly and make them feel like they know more about them instantly. Its first impressions which matter and people will judge the film straight away to wether they want to keep watching or pick a different film.

5 initial ideas:

• someone picking up glasses and putting them on – Glasses falling on the floor
• sun rise – sun set
• throwing a ball – throwing a rock/stone into water
• reading a book/magazine
• a vinyl playing – a cd spinning/playing

Spending time creating the perfect shot is worthwhile as it adds meaning to the project. Thinking about what is in frame and what isn’t is also needed for a good film so everything in the foreground and background is there for a reason and has something to do with the film. Spending time doing prep like this will be worth it because it will mean the overall outcome will be more professional and it will be a better piece of work.

With this research I have done and things I have learnt, over the next few weeks I am going to do a shot for shot sequence copying some of these techniques so that it can give me inspiration and a feel for how it works, afterwards I am going to plan my own little film which should have a linked beginning and end frame  as well as using some kind of foreshadow technique or maybe use multiple. I will also keep up to date with the blogs to record my thought process and how things are going and round everything off with a review of the project as a whole.