Hero mood board

Mood boards are collections of images used in the planning stage of a product for gaining inspiration for a style of something. As part of the first stage of my planning, I put together a series of images related to what makes an action hero to use for reference when making my film opening. These are some of the images I found:

Survey results

After distributing my surveys to students in school, I received over 20 surveys. I then processed the data in Microsoft Excel and created graphs visually showing the results. They will be helpful in informing me what sub-genres the respondents favoured and the typical conventions and settings expected, for example. To view, click the link below:


https://www.slideshare.net/the-hunger-games/questionnaire-graphs-74665962

Action genre survey (Audience Research)

After doing some analysis of existing film openings, I created a survey to collect the views and opinions on action films from school students - this will be important to my research as we will later use the results to make an effective opening to an action film. At time of writing, I have collected three responses so far.

Action genre survey for AS Media Studies coursework

Please highlight your answers.

1.       What action film serial(s) have you watched?

Mission Impossible

James Bond

Jason Bourne

Mad Max

Fast and Furious

Taken

Other

If other, please state:

2.       Which action film serial is your favourite?

Mission Impossible

James Bond

Jason Bourne

Mad Max

Fast and Furious

Taken

Other

If other, please state:

3.       What setting(s) would you expect to find in an action film?

City/urban area

Small town

Desert

Warehouse

Other

If other, please state:

4.       What conventions (features) would you expect to find in an action film?

Violence

Death

Weapons, e.g. guns and knives

Female love interest/victim

Sinister villain

Companion(s) to the protagonist

Male protagonist

Other

If other, please state:

5.       What action sub-genre is your favourite?

Spy

Adventure

Sci-fi

Superhero

Disaster

Epic

Martial arts

Other

If other, please state:

6.       What age category do you belong to?

11-13

14-16

17-18

7.       What is your gender?

Male

Female

Other

Research into openings of action films: Taken 2

A third action film opening that was investigated by Amirah was that of Taken 2, as demonstrated below:

Codes and Conventions	Findings	Textual Evidence
Creation of Enigma	The start scene is quite confusing; there are fast cuts in and out of the scene. The scene is interrupted with the titles, introducing the actors name etc. we don’t know the full story, this draws the audience in further as it’s like a mystery. Also, no sound has been used, diegetic dialogue has been used. The audience has to figure out themselves what is going on. In the sequence we also see a clock ticking, his again creates mystery; it makes that audience question why the time is being shown over and over again. What’s the rush? Why are they working against time?	2.40 – the scene is repeatedly interrupted with the titles. 1.03 – we see a clock ticking
Introduction to Characters	Mid-way through the starting sequence we see a man get out of a car. We can infer that in this particular scene he is the main character as the camera then follows him to the police officer. He is seen to be talking to the police officer, he then takes out his gun and points it towards the officer. It looks like the main character is black mailing him. We can tell that this man is dangerous; he is carrying a gun and is very open about it too. He knows he has power and he is using it in a way which it will benefit him.	1.33 – man walks out of car 1.41 – he is threatening the police officer with a gun
Setting up Plot	The fact that they have used a plane to transport something tells us that whatever it is that they have it’s a big deal. This is backed up when the police officer seems to be yelling at the main character, and then the main character pulls out a gun, threatening him with it. It suggests to us (the audience) that what they are transporting may not be legal. This is setting the plot as it could be telling us that this is who the hero of the story is going to have to deal with. It’s giving us some back ground on the character.	0.49 – we can see a plane on the runway 1.41 – the main character is threatening the police officer
Pace and Rhythm	The editing is fast pace; it’s parallel to the music too. This may be to alert the audience, telling them that they need to be paying attention to what is going on. However it contrasts with the clock which is repeatedly shown in the sequence, as the time on the clock is moving slower, it may have been used to show verisimilitude, and to show the reality of what is going on. The main character of this scene could be yelling at the officer to try and tell him to hurry up.	2.56 – clock is ticking 1.39 – main character is seen yelling at the officer
Mood and Tone	Throughout the whole of the opening scene non-diegetic music has been used. Its fast pace, reflecting the scene very well, the sound is parallel to the camera shots and editing, there are many fast cuts over and over again. It could have been produced this way to show a sense of urgency. The music sound electronic and full of sound effects, one is used when the man steps out of his car, it’s a very low sound, it could have been used to show danger, that this man is a dangerous character.	0.40 – start of the first scene 1.33 – main character is getting out of his car.

Research into openings of action films: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Amirah also wrote about and analysed the features of 2011's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol's opening, providing relevant evidence, as follows:

Codes and Conventions	Findings	Textual Evidence
Stock Settings	We are introduced to the setting, where the film is starting off. The name of the city; Budapest was introduced to us first on a black screen. Then a few seconds later we saw the actual city. This method may have been used to show the audience how the place where its set is of some importance. It’s part of the plot. It also draws their attention to the scene.	0.55 – shows the name of the city in white, on a black background. Contrasting colours have been used to make it stand out. 0.56 – we are introduced to the city.
Stock Characters	We are introduced to the characters mid-way through a chase scene. The first character runs out onto a rooftop with two more men behind him. The two men behind are shooting, suggesting they are the villains. However the first character which was shown shoots back, this makes us (the audience) unsure of who is who, it creates mystery, we are trying to figure out who is who and what is actually going on. We are then introduced to the final character in that scene the ‘assassin’, we first see her walking toward the hero character, who is carrying the important files. The hero character gets a message on his phone – which we later find out that its actually warning him about her – when he looks up, she shoots him three times before rushing for the files, taking them and walking away	1.15 – we are introduced to the first character. Who we think is the hero. 1.21 – we are introduced to the two men who run out after the first guy, and shoot. Making us think they are the villains. 1.51 – we are introduced to yet another villain. She shoots the hero character who is holding the important files.
Themes	The theme comes through the first scene almost immediately as the characters are introduced. The running, shooting and jumping of buildings is what we typically expect to see in an action movie. The non-diegetic music in the background has a low tone and is fast pace, it gives connotations of danger, and it makes us feel more alert, like we need to pay more attention. also, the fact that they are on top of a building, carrying out an action sequence, allows the audience to be able to differentiate between this genre and others.	1.21-1.23 – two men are chasing a guy whilst at the same time shooting at him. 1.22 – one of the men jumps of the building. He turns around and starts shooting at the others.
Narrative	The first character we are introduced to, we are slightly confused as to who he is, hero or villain. This draws the audience in, it makes them feel the need to find out more about who they are. Towards the end of the scene we are introduced to the villain, the woman is seen walking toward the first character, she then shoots him, takes his stuff and leaves. The camera zooms in to the man’s phone where we can see the picture of the woman, where on top we can clearly see that it says ‘assassin’.	1.15 – we are introduced to the first character as he bursts through a door leading to the roof of a building 2.09 – we see the woman’s image on the phone screen showing the audience she is the villain, the ‘assassin’
Iconography	The first character shown in the scene activates a small device in his hand which he later throws off the building as he jumps, when he is near the ground the device expands into a big air filled cushion, to break his fall. We also see a lot of use of guns, every character we see in the sequence is either carrying or shooting a gun. All of these props have been used to show the genre of the movie. They are typical action movie props, very high tech, complicated and small which somehow turn into a bigger object.	1.17 – the first character activating the device 1.23 – the man throws the same device over the edge of the building 1.21 – the two men using their guns and shooting.

Research into openings of action films: Jack Reacher

Jack Reacher's opening was also studied beside Spectre, Rogue Nation and Fury Road as part of our film opening research - it was analysed by Amirah, my partner, as shown below:

https://youtu.be/5xPm2I6M97E Codes and Conventions	Findings	Textual Evidence
Creation of Enigma	The scene starts of my following a white van through the town of Pittsburgh. This creates an atmosphere of mystery, it makes us wonder why they are following that particular van, its draws us in. the high angle shots of the van are interrupted by someone sharpening a piece of metal. This again creates mystery, it confuses the audience, and they are now trying to figure out what is going on. It has made them more alert. Through the start of the scene we do not see who is driving the white van, this creates a sense of mystery as we are being kept in the dark about this character, we don’t know who they are or where they are going. The driver of the vehicle is also wearing a white glove, this is a prop we usually associate with crime, and this idea that we wear gloves whilst committing a crime so that we don’t leave any DNA evidence behind	0.03 – first shot of white van 0.10 – white van is shown again 0.17 – sharpening of a small metal object 0.43 – we can see a hand, wearing a glove
Introduction to Characters	Throughout the start of this sequence we don’t see any characters. However as the scene moves on we do see the side of the drivers face, it’s not a lot but just enough to answer some of the audience’s questions. From that shot we can tell that it’s a male character that is in the white van.  We later on see that the bullet he was sharpening was actually for a sniper, this tells us that the character is dangerous. They may be a big part of the storyline. The fact that we don’t actually see the characters face until two minutes into the sequence, could be telling us that the character is very good at hiding, this could be a hint, showing how he’s involved in the story.	0.45 – we can see that it’s a male character driving the white van 1.43 – making his own bullets 1.56 – carrying a sniper 2.01 – we finally see the characters face
Setting up Plot	At the start of the sequence the white van is shown driving on a motor way where we can see street signs, this tells the audience where the story will take place. The fact that the character is wearing gloves, sharpening a bullet and carrying a sniper tells us that the plot may revolve around death and murder. They are giving the audience little hints about the back story, and what is going to happen. They are laying down the past so when this scene is over they can get on with the present.	0.07 – street signs show us where it is taking place 0.43 – the driver of the vehicle is wearing a glove 0.16 – he is sharpening a piece of metal 1.42 – the piece of metal is actually a bullet 1.56 – the character is carrying a gun
Pace and Rhythm	The cuts used are slow, they don’t skip anything. This may have been used to show that they character was taking their time, whilst committing their crime. It shows their confidence and how they are not afraid to do what they are about to do. The slow cuts also show realism, things are moving in real time, this may be to allow the audience to examine the character’s every move, it may be important further into the movie.	1.10-1.21 – the cuts within this time period show things moving in real time
Mood and Tone (Non-Diegetic Music)	The music is building up as the character gets closer and closer to the car park, where he will commit the crime. As he drives into the car park, we see a mid-shot of a CCTV camera, at the same time the volume of the non-diegetic music lowers, this may have been to show how the driver is aware of everything else but not that. It’s just slipped past him. The music instantly lowers showing that he needs to focus, if he’s going to be successful in what he’s about to do.	Between 0.35 and 0.45, the music is building up. 1.05 – we can see a camera, the sound of the music lowers. 1.49 – the man steps out of the van, and walks towards the edge of the car park.

Research into openings of action films: Spectre

As part of my research, I looked at three different openings of action films and analysed the codes and conventions in them to see the features held by each and what they have in common, one of them being the 2015 James Bond  film Spectre, as shown in the table below.

Code and Conventions	Findings	Textual evidence
Creation of enigma	At the beginning of the clip, there is uncertainty that can be felt by the audience about who the hero and villain are and they therefore become engaged in the film. Later in the clip, the tracking of the couple walking to and through the hotel creates more mystery for the audience and makes them ask questions to themselves, e.g. what are they going to do in the hotel? Is it linked to the guy in the white suit that was seen earlier?	0.41 – 0.53 – camera initially follows a guy in a skull mask and white suit, before stopping to focus on a couple in similar costume and following their movement through tracking from 0.54 onwards until 3.02.
Introduction to characters	The camera initially follows the movement of a guy in a white suit; when he turns and walks past a couple in similar costume, the camera stops moving before following the couple’s movement from the festival to a hotel through tracking.	0.37 – camera begins to crane in on a guy in a white suit walking through the festival before panning at 0.57 to a couple standing nearby, who walk to a hotel – this is followed through tracking.
Setting up plot	Text is shown on screen before the Day of the Dead festival scene takes place, reflecting the film’s title (Spectre).	‘The dead are alive’ (0.05)
Pace and rhythm Editing/mise en scene/camera shots	Clip begins with a large model skeleton being paraded through the streets of Mexico City as part of the Day of the Dead festival before camera follows movement of a guy in a white suit & skeleton mask and later, a couple, a woman in a dress and mask and another guy (who is later revealed to be Bond) in a skeleton suit and skull costume. without editing. This continues when Bond leaves the hotel through a window – doing this makes the scene calm & relaxed; it also suggests the guy and the couple are connected in some way and their paths will cross later in the film. When Bond is in the hotel room, he is revealed to be wearing a suit, connoting business and formality.	Guy in a white suit is first seen at 0.32 – camera then pans to and later focuses on a couple at 0.48, who start walking to a hotel at 0.51 until 2.33, when they enter their hotel room. Camera then pans from woman to Bond at 2.58 – from this point, the camera follows Bond’s movement as he walks out of a window and walks along the rooftops and sets up his gun, before the camera cranes in on the window that he will shoot at.
Mood and tone (non-diegetic music)	Drums and trumpets, then no music until Bond steps out of hotel window. Music becomes more intense when he walks across roof and prepares to shoot at a window at the end of the ledge he walks across.	2.58 – music stops when woman asks ‘Where are you going?’ It continues to play at 3.01, when Bond steps out of window and part of the Bond theme tune can be heard at 3.50.

Research presentations

Two Powerpoint presentations as part of my research into the action genre and features of an opening - one of them analysing codes and conventions of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and typical codes & conventions of action films, with examples.

 They can be accessed through these links

http://www.slideshare.net/the-hunger-games/codes-and-conventions-of-the-action-genre-71141724

http://www.slideshare.net/the-hunger-games/opening-scene-analysis-mad-max-fury-road-71141723

Research into openings of action films: Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was the second film I analysed as part of my research into existing film openings - here, I have begun to notice similarities in this opening and Spectre's, such as the slow reveal of characters and the costume.

Code and Conventions	Findings	Textual evidence
Creation of enigma	The scene is set and we are introduced to two of the characters through a call and one of them popping up in grass fields, communicating to the audience that they’re involved in a mission	1.04 – a grass field with trees in the distance, a voice calls Benji at 1.14-1.18 – this character is revealed at 1.19, when he pops up in a grass disguise in a field.
Introduction to characters	Benji is shown to be in a field in a grass disguise, while Brandt is fully revealed to be in a surveillance room when the light brightens to properly reveal his face (having initially been shown to be in the scene through a diegetic voiceover). The third character to be introduced, Luther (who is at the top of a signal tower in Malaysia), informs Brandt of the mission progress through telecoms, before Ethan Hunt arrives to help Benji.	1.13 – ‘Benji? Benji, do you copy? Benji?’ 1.19 - Benji appears in grass, wearing a disguise to camouflage with the environment. 1.43 – ‘We’re working on it’ 2.59 – Ethan runs up a hill and towards the plane, before jumping on it
Setting up plot	Location name is shown when the film opens to a field of grass to introduce the film, the setting/scene and the mission that will be taking place.	1.05 – ‘Minsk, Belarus’
Pace and rhythm Editing/mise en scene/camera shots	Slow panning has been used at the beginning to set the scene and create a peaceful atmosphere and continues when we first see Benji until we are shown a close-up of him. The close-up allows us to focus on what he is up to, i.e. spying on a plane through binoculars; the audience can further see events through Benji’s eyes in an eyeline match, followed by a point of view shot. Fast cross cutting takes place between Benji, Brandt and Luther to convey the importance of shutting down the plane and later the tension when Benji is unable to do so and Brandt covers his face with one of his hands, showing that he has lost hope in the mission – this is when crane is used to go up a hill that Ethan has run up from the other side; he is shown to be the only solution to the problem and therefore a saviour. Brandt and Ethan wear suits, though the latter does not wear a tie – this piece of mise en scene suggests that Brandt takes his appearance more seriously than Ethan, although they can both be seen to be formal, business-like people.	Panning continues from 1.05 until 1.21. Cross cutting takes place between 1.23-2.58 and cuts amongst Benji, Brandt and Luther. 1.22 – close up of Benji in the grass. 1.24 – binocular POV shot. 1.28 – Brandt’s introduction. 1.53 – Brandt puts a hand in front of his face. 2.59 – camera moves up a hill via crane to coincide with Ethan reaching the top.
Mood and tone (non-diegetic music)	Intense music begins when Benji gets up from the grass and subsequently corresponds with Brandt and Luther while trying to hack into the plane’s system – a sense of importance is created for the audience and conveyed through the urgency in Brandt’s voice. When Ethan arrives, the Mission Impossible theme starts to play, before stopping when he gets on the plane and beginning again when he releases the missile package’s parachute.	1.18 – beginning of intense non-diegetic music, lasts until 2.59, when the main part of the Mission Impossible theme begins to play until 4.45 and resumes from the very beginning at 5.11.

Initial ideas mindmap

At the beginning of the coursework, me and my partner Amirah made a mind map of the film genres and the examples of movies that would provide inspiration for our film opening. From this mind map, we would choose the action genre as we believed that it would make creating an opening easier than for the fantasy genre, which was what I initially suggested because I listed more movies in that category than the others (sci-fi and adventure, alongside action). As a result of choosing the action genre, we would subsequently carry out research on genre conventions and if the openings fulfilled said conventions.

Research into action openings - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

As part of my research into film openings of the action genre, I had to watch some examples and analyse the different techniques, such as enigma, camera shots and camera movement, for example. This was done so that when I made my opening, I could be well informed of what could typically be found in an action opening.
Here is a table for my analysis of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Code and Conventions	Findings	Textual evidence
Creation of enigma	The scene is set and we are introduced to two of the characters through a call and one of them popping up in grass fields, communicating to the audience that they’re involved in a mission	1.04 – a grass field with trees in the distance, a voice calls Benji at 1.14-1.18 – this character is revealed at 1.19, when he pops up in a grass disguise in a field.
Introduction to characters	Benji is shown to be in a field in a grass disguise, while Brandt is fully revealed to be in a surveillance room when the light brightens to properly reveal his face (having initially been shown to be in the scene through a diegetic voiceover) The third character to be introduced, Luther (who is at the top of a signal tower in Malaysia), informs Brandt of the mission progress through telecoms, before Ethan Hunt arrives to help Benji.	1.13 – ‘Benji? Benji, do you copy? Benji?’ 1.19 - Benji appears in grass, wearing a disguise to camouflage with the environment. 1.43 – ‘We’re working on it’ 2.59 – Ethan runs up a hill and towards the plane, before jumping on it
Setting up plot	Location name is shown when the film opens to a field of grass to introduce the film, the setting/scene and the mission that will be taking place.	1.05 – ‘Minsk, Belarus’
Pace and rhythm Editing/mise en scene/camera shots	Slow panning has been used at the beginning to set the scene and create a peaceful atmosphere and continues when we first see Benji until we are shown a close-up of him. The close-up allows us to focus on what he is up to, i.e. spying on a plane through binoculars; the audience can further see events through Benji’s eyes in an eyeline match, followed by a point of view shot. Fast cross cutting takes place between Benji, Brandt and Luther to convey the importance of shutting down the plane and later the tension when Benji is unable to do so and Brandt covers his face with one of his hands, showing that he has lost hope in the mission – this is when crane is used to go up a hill that Ethan has run up from the other side; he is shown to be the only solution to the problem and therefore a saviour. Brandt and Ethan wear suits, though the latter does not wear a tie – this piece of mise en scene suggests that Brandt takes his appearance more seriously than Ethan, although they can both be seen to be formal, business-like people.	Panning continues from 1.05 until 1.21. Cross cutting takes place between 1.23-2.58 and cuts amongst Benji, Brandt and Luther. 1.22 – close up of Benji in the grass. 1.24 – binocular POV shot. 1.28 – Brandt’s introduction. 1.53 – Brandt puts a hand in front of his face. 2.59 – camera moves up a hill via crane to coincide with Ethan reaching the top.
Mood and tone (non-diegetic music)	Intense music begins when Benji gets up from the grass and subsequently corresponds with Brandt and Luther while trying to hack into the plane’s system – a sense of importance is created for the audience and conveyed through the urgency in Brandt’s voice. When Ethan arrives, the Mission Impossible theme starts to play, before stopping when he gets on the plane and beginning again when he releases the missile package’s parachute.	1.18 – beginning of intense non-diegetic music, lasts until 2.59, when the main part of the Mission Impossible theme begins to play until 4.45 and resumes from the very beginning at 5.11.