My Target Audience

I have decided that I wanted to target my opening sequence to middle ages viewers. I decide this target audience because I felt like younger people like teenagers and children may not have the emotional connection to the opening sequence like middle aged viewers may have. I also considered the fact that people with children may be able to emotionally connect to the fact that a child has gone missing, and would be able to sympathize with the mother. 

Mothers and Fathers would be able to sympathize with the mother, and emotionally connect to the opening sequence.

I have targeted my film of the age of 25 and upwards. This was because any age after 25 will be mature enough to understand my opening sequence. Any younger than 25 maybe would not be able to understand the opening sequence and the importance of it. I have also included some foreshadowing elements within it, and a young audience may not be able to understand that or notice the fact that i have included these elements.

Younger teenagers and children may not have a particular interest in my opening sequence as well as them not being able to understand it, they may not be interested in this particular issue. Middle aged women and men are more aware of this issue and therefore may

be more interested in this opening sequence.

My target audience is going to be quite small and probably have to have particular interests, like having kids and looking after them. My target audience would probably be

into watching the television more than watching films because that is where it is going to be distributed.

I would probably try and advertise in magazines that middle aged women/maybe men would read, and therefore they would be aware of the opening sequence, maybe in children catalogs because the mothers normally read that, or maybe advertise on the BBC because that is what middle aged women usually watch.

If i had to define my generation of my target audience it probably be the "midlife crisis", this is because middle aged women and men probably would appeal to my opening sequence the most. 

My Editing

This my editing on Final Cut Pro, I used Final Cut Pro because it is a very effective editing technique that helps edit in big detail. 

FinalCutPro creates high quality video, and that is what i want for my opening sequence, it is easy to import and export. The sound quality is also really good and it allows you to work with multiple channels of audio so you can edit and overlap them. I really need the  colour correction on FinalCutPro because I shot on two different days so the lighting is a bit different. In FinalCutPro it helps you correct the problems easily and effectively so that my shots colour is all very similar.

The transitions work really well in FinalCutPro, and they offer many more than IMovie, this makes it more effective to edit on, and also makes sure that the shots transition smoothly. 

Overall, I was extremely happy with FinalCutPro and i believe my editing was better because of it. 

This shot shows me editing the text. It also shows how i positioned the text. I decided that I would position the text on the gate, and so it stands out to the audience. I also really like where the boy is standing in terms of the rule of two thirds. It almost looks like the boy is looking at the text which i think overall looks really effective.

When editing, i decided to use the format of a SLR, this made the sides of the film blurry but the middle of it was in focus. This made the footage look older like it was in the past which was very effective because it helps distinguish between the past and the present.

This is what the SLR format looked like when I was editing it. It looks really effective because it almost portrays a home video, this is what i wanted as i wanted it to look like a flashback, which i think in the end it did. I also like the positioning of this shot with the little boy close up to the camera and the older brother who goes missing far away in the distance

Text for my Opening Sequence

I spent a long time trying to figure out what text i was going to use for my opening sequence. I thought that it was really important as it needed to stand out but i did not want it take away from the opening sequence, so it could not stand out to much.

 I liked this font, as it is pale enough so does not take away from the opening sequence. However i think this font is more meant to an opening sequence from the middle ages, and may not go with a modern opening sequence. It also takes up to much room in the sequence so may be distracting for the audience.

I like this font, again i like the colour as it stands out against the opening sequence but does not take away from the action. However again i do not think the font works with the genre as it may be a little harsh looking and probably more suited to a horror or action genre.

This colour font does not stand out against the background and may not be noticed by the audience. I also again do not like the font as it is not suited to my genre. By trying this font it has made me realise that I want to use white as it is the perfect colour for the text against my backdrop.










I think this is the perfect font for my titles, this is because it stands out enough so that the audience can see it, however it does not take away from the opening sequence. I like the font because it is plain and simple but looks really effective with my opening sequence.

Editing Music into My Sequence

The Music From My Opening Sequence

At the start i added music to go with the Film4 introduction. This is because i  wanted it to look as well as sound like a proper opening sequence, and the fact that i used music to go with the opening Film4 intro it hopefully made it look more effective.

This is how i did the sound for the siren at the start, I tried to fade in the music so that it came in slowly. I did this my using the editing on final cut. I controlled the volume of the opening sequence making it quite loud so that is shocks the audience. 

 I then used the sound effect of a police siren before the actual music kicked in. The music overlaps for around 2 seconds with my opening sequence music. This is effective as then there is no silence within my opening sequence.


I thought the sound effect of the police siren was really effective, as it foreshadowed to the audience that something bad was going to happen as it involves the police. Not only that but it also creates tension straight away, and leaves the audience wandering what is going to happen next.

This screen shot is from the sound of my opening sequence. I used an acoustic song to add to the emotion of my opening sequence. At the end of the sequence i tried to fade the sound out slowly. This worked very effective as it was able to show the audience that the sequence was ending.

I then faded in the music over the top of the siren, this meant that there was no silence but they also overlap nicely. I used the fade in so that the music was not straight away loud that may not work with the opening sequence as it may of looked clumsy, so by using the fade in, it eases the audience into the opening sequence.

Music Ideas

Music Ideas For My Opening Sequence

I had a few ideas for music in my opening sequence. I felt like the music that i chose was going to be very important for my opening sequence because it helps sets the mood of the piece. I also wanted the music to be able to create suspense and tension within my opening sequence and therefore I wanted to pick the most effective music for this.

Adele - Hometown Glory

I liked the thought of using this song for my opening sequence because i felt it was was able to set the mood for my opening sequence. It was able to convey sadness and loss and it could make the audience feel sympathetic for the mother and the little brother. However the problem about the song is i decided i wanted completely acoustic music because I didn't want singing to distract from my opening sequence. I also felt that though the this music piece could make the audience feel sympathetic for my characters. The music did not create suspense and tension like I also wanted.

Acoustic Piano - Unknown



I found a CD with acoustic piano on it, i really liked the first track on it. The music was sad and emotional making the audience feel sympathy for the characters. However this music also makes the opening sequence tense because of the quick tempo. I like the fact that there is no singing in it, as it creates sadness and suspense without having singing in it. I really like the music and it is one of my favorite tracks to use for my opening sequence.

The Fray - How to Save A Life



I really like the song by the Fray, there is lots of emotion in the song and i would like this to be created in my opening sequence. The title "how to save a life" also goes really well with my opening sequence, this is because it relates to the fact that one of the boys has been stolen and had his life taken away from him. However like i said in the previous music i did not want to use singing for my music track and so i do not think I can use this track.

Photographs From My Filming

These are some photographs of me filming my opening sequence. 

I filmed this shot as a long shot, and therefore filmed it from a distance away, this is because i wanted to get both of them in the shot fully. This would of only been possible if i had filmed them from far away, i also had to film further away because they where not lined up and one was closer to the camera, and the only way to capture them at different distances was to film them from far away. I chose not to use a tripod in this shot because I wanted it to be a bit shaky, as i wanted it to portray a home movie, and so i wanted there to be a bit of movement from the camera.

This shot again i filmed from far away because i needed to get quite a lot into the shot, i needed to get the red arrow and the two boys, i would not of been able to get all of this into a medium shot. It was important that the shot was able to capture them looking at the red arrow as it was symbolic to the video.

This is a photograph I took after filming this closeup, i thought this was an important shot to get as it was able to portray the feelings of the little boy about his brother going missing. The way he is stood and they way he is looking down implies the sadness he feels. The way he is positioned to the camera shows some distance as he is facing away from it, this creates distance between the character and the audience. 

This shot I took of the lost brother, this is the same place as the closeup of the little brother. This shot shows that in the previous shot of the little brother he is reflecting on the memories of his lost brother. This shot is a memory of the lost brother is effective, though i wish i was able to get a photograph of him when he looked happy, as in this photo he looks quite sad and this is not how it came across in the shot.

The Equipment That I Used

I used my Nikon D1300

I also used my Nikon Tripod

Here is my camera and my lens before i was about to film.

I really liked my equipment because it was very good quality. By using the tripod i was able to create the stillness i needed for particular scenes, the camera that i used was perfect as it was small and light enough for the hand held shots but it also created very good quality.

I want to use a camera that is able to capture the realistic lighting in my opening sequence. In the opening sequence I want the same lighting to be in the scene, therefore the only variable that i will change when filming is the different shot, but i am not going to change any features on the camera so that the lighting will not vary.

Story Board Plan

This is my story board plan for my new opening sequence. I think my creating a plan for my opening sequence it will help me with my filming because I have ideas for the shots I am going to do, and it will help me film more effectively. By knowing lots of the shots i need i will be able to give clear direction to the actors so they know exactly what they are doing. 

The use of the storyboard in my opening sequence

I mostly stuck to the story board plan, using the camera angles that i had planned to use 
before hand. This is because i wanted to use a variation of camera angles and using the storyboard made sure that i would do this. The story board whilst filming also abled me to describe to my actors exactly what i wanted them to do through the use of text and pictures. The use of a story board it also meant that i was able to know exactly in which location i wanted to film in, and where i wanted to place the actors. Because i changed locations quite a lot in the sequence with lots of flashing images it would of been very complicated not to have a story board. 

By using the storyboard it made sure that i did not forget any important shots that otherwise i might of missed. Because there was such a big variety of shots the use of story boards helped massively with the organization of the shoot. When it came to editing the storyboard came in extremely helpful this is because i was able to put all the shots that i had filmed in order very quickly and efficiently. Without the storyboard i would of had to figure out the order of the shots when it came to editing and it may of not made sense, but because i had the storyboard i could just organize them from that. 

Overall, the use of the storyboard helped me in every aspect of the production of my opening sequence, and without it, it may of been a much slower process and when filming it could of been disorganized. 

My Location

I filmed my opening sequence in Coleshil, Beacondsfield. I filmed it at the Coleshill Cricket Club and a house on the main road. I liked my location as it was the perfect backdrop for my shots, this is because the fact that the setting was such an open space it gives the audience a false sense of security because the setting portrays a happy day out where you would not anticipate the events that unfold.

By shooting in this location i new that i would have no problems with people getting in the shot, the sounds of cars. Because i was staying nearby to the location it allowed me to shoot at the best time of day and long hours instead of having to rush my filming. Also by staying close by it allowed me to return to the location and re-film, this meant that i got a more variety of shots.

Planning For My Shoot

Location Scouting

Coleshill Cricket Club

This location would be ideal to film my opening sequence because it is a really nice open space where filming could be very versatile. The open space means that i could get the boys to run about easily, the fact that it is quite a private place means that not a lot of people will be there which is exactly what i want. When the little boy is running alone the fact that hopefully no one will be at the cricket club will be able to fully portrayal loneliness when it comes to the boy being alone. The problem about this location is it is very far away, this means filming there would be very time consuming because i would need to travel with all the equipment. It also means that i cannot film at all different times because i would have to go there at one particular time and then film then.

Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve

This is another location I may film my opening sequence at. It may be effective to film in a forest because the use of trees could be used for the little boys to hide behind and create an effective backdrop. This location is also closer to by house so I could go there often to film different clips of my opening sequence this is effective because i could film in different lights and on different days to get a variation of shots. However the problem with this location is that it may be extremely busy on days i want to film, this means that people may get in the way and i will not be able to properly film. The location also does not have many open spaces which is what i want, therefore i would only be able to film in the forest. Because i am only using natural lighting it may be quite dark because of the forest taking away the light, therefore i would have to rethink what lighting i should use.

Chisiwick Common

Chiswick Common is another idea of where i could film, this is also very near my house so i could film on many different days creating shots in different times and also could shoot on different days with different kind of weather which would create a different portrayal of memories. Chiswick common is also an open space which is what i want for the location, because it means i can get the boys to run about playing. The fact that there are hardly any trees means that i will be able to get enough light without having to use alternative light sources. However the problem with Chiswick common is that it may be extremely busy because it is in such an exposed place, i need a place where there is not a lot of people to properly portrayal loneliness when it comes to the boy being a lone.

My Characters

The Lost Brother - played by George Miller

The lost brother is a character that features in the flashbacks in my opening sequence. His face is not really shown in the opening sequence because I wanted to create mystery and suspense, this was because I wanted the audience to feel more emotionally towards he little brother and the mother. 

I decided to make the missing brother older as I thought that the audience would emotionally connect easier to a child that was a older toddler. This is because when it came to him being taken, the audience would be able to sympathize because they had got to know the boy.

The only problem with using an actor as young as him, as it may take more patience to get shots that i can use, and directing him may be harder than using an older actor. However, using someone this young hopefully will evoke emotion in the audience because of his innocence. 

The Little Brother - played by Sam Hytner

The opening sequence focuses around the little brother mostly. He is in the flash backs with his older brother and in the present tense with his mother. The opening sequence focuses around the emotions that him and his mother are feeling to the loss of their brother/son.

I wanted to use someone really young for this part, as i wanted there to be hints in the opening sequence that he understood that his brother had gone missing, but i also wanted a sense of naivety, where he doesn't completely understand. 

Again, this actor is younger than the older brother, and therefore may be even more difficult to work with, this is because directing him may be hard. However, i need someone this young to play the part to be able to convey the innocence i need. 

The Mother - played by Joanna Grayson

The mother is a character that will mostly be in scenes in the present tense. I will focus around the emotion that she is feeling after her son has gone missing. This will be the easiest person to film as she has the full range of emotions needed and will be able to connect to the part as she is a mother herself.

Using someone older and easy to direct means that it will be easier to get the exact emotion i need for my sequence. I need someone who is a middle aged women and someone that looks the stereotypical age to have two children.

My Brainstorm for my opening sequence

This is my brainstorm for my new opening sequence and I ideas I have had for it.

These where the initial ideas that came to me after my failure of my previous opening sequence. I made a proper plan this time unlike my first opening sequence, this will help me when filming my new sequence.

My Opening Sequence Presentation

This is my new presentation of my opening sequence idea.

I re-did the presentation because i decided by first idea was not working.

This video is able to describe what my new ideas for my opening sequence:



My New Opening Sequence Project from Lucy Hope on Vimeo.

My New Ideas Brainstorm

I did not like how my first opening sequence worked out. This was due to many problems along the way when i was filming and afterwards when i was editing.

This is why i have decided to do a new opening sequence, the brainstorm underneath is some new ideas that i have come up with for my new opening sequence.

My New Opening Sequence

I have decided to re-do my opening sequence with a different story. This is my new presentation for my idea: 

My First Opening Sequence Presentation

My Initial Idea for My Presentation

Here is my presentation for my idea for my opening sequence:

Initial Idea For My Opening Sequence from lucyhytner

My First Opening Sequence Anylsis

I created my first opening sequence in Kalkun, Turkey. I have decided not to use this opening sequence, as I don’t think it really worked and I have decided to refilm it and change my idea. I really liked the beginning of my opening sequence as I think it was effective at setting the scene, I thought the music went really well with the start of it, but I don’t think the music went with the end of the opening sequence because it was to happy but the actions in the movie was meant to leave suspense and creepy for the audience to watch, but with the music you where not able to get this effect.

I also think that lots of my scenes did not relate with each other and it seemed disoriented when it wasn’t meant to be. Lots of the scenes from my opening sequence would of worked if I had filmed around the same subject and not different aspects of the holiday. I think by first sequence did not really work because I did not have a very good idea about what I wanted in my head and therefore it was extremely difficult to film.

I really liked the underwater scenes that I filmed on the go-pro but I think I included to much underwater in the opening sequence and should of focused on filming with my Nikon 3100 because it has a better quality of filming and looks more realistic than the go-pro. Next

I do like the beginning and the end of my sequence but I think they do not work together, if I would re-film the sequence I would choose one idea or the other and not try and calibrate a drama with an upbeat opening sequence as I think it is hard to get the idea across in such a short period of time which my opening sequence is meant to be.

I think when I am filming my new opening sequence I want to develop my story more before I film. I think this is extremely important so that I have more idea about what I am filming on the day.  I also want to use a tri-pod so my filming is sturdier and therefore the opening sequence should look better. I think it also important to use as many different shots as possible.

My First Opening Sequence from Lucy Hope on Vimeo.