Shots/Frames From Our Opening Title Sequence ‘The Present Past’

The title ‘The Present Past’ has a couple of meanings. The main reason why we thought that ‘The Present Past’ best suited our film was that our whole film was set in the present but the narrative revolved around aspects from the past. For example, the antagonist Benedict Black is performing all his actions because of the previous relationship between him and Sam Cooke, the protagonist. The second meaning is just a play on words because ‘Present’ can refer to the time reference but also to a gift and at the end of our opening title sequence Benedict Black gives Sam Cooke a small box or gift. Title of the film

Our opening shot is an establishing shot of the house. Because it is in the dark this instantly sets an eerie mood and makes you aware of the genre. It makes the audience also aware that the opening title sequence will probably feature the antagonist. The mood of the shot is typical of the thriller genre. Our distribution company ‘LIONSGATE’ blurs along with the rest of the shot so the transition is smoother. The second location in our opening title sequence is the streets of the village where the kidnapping takes place. Setting/Location

This frame includes both character’s costumes and props. Sam Cooke is dressed in a suit and smart shoes with a jacket and Benedict Black is wearing fairly smart clothes with a big jacket. Sam Cooke’s clothes resemble his ordinary life and ordinary personality and Benedict’s jacket suggests that he is secretive and keeps his life hidden just like his personality. In this frame you can see that Benedict is holding a gun. The gun could suggest that there is some anger in his personality. Costume & props

In this frame we got Kev to film as he was walking so we could film a point of view shot. This shot really puts you in the shoes of Benedict Black, the antagonist, so it makes the scene more dramatic. When we were editing we made it so that when Benedict turns his hand round after taking the gun out and you can see the ring on his finger, there is a slow motion effect. This effect really draws the audience’s attention to the ring. It is important that the audience can clearly see the ring because in the previous shot Benedict takes the same ring off the table and then because he is wearing the same ring in the flashback it informs the audience that whatever happens during the flashback, Benedict was successful. This is typical of the thriller genre because at the start of a thriller film the antagonist always has a lot of power and he is in control. Camerawork & editing

Our title ‘The Present Past’ appears at the end of our opening title sequence. The font is called ‘Bad Coma’. The font looks like it’s been painted with a brush so this could reflect the creativity of our antagonist Benedict Black. Our last shot is of a small box that Benedict gives to Sam Cooke instead of killing him. The word ‘Present’ is under the box so it could have two meanings, as in the time reference and a present is another word for a gift or box. Title font & style

The narrative of our story is about Benedict trying to get back at Sam because of the things that Sam did to Benedict when they were at school together. This frame represents how the opening title sequence sets it up well because Benedict is circling a picture of Sam Cooke when he was at school so this shows that Benedict has known him for a long time and that Benedict also shows aggression towards him. Story & how the OTS sets it up

This frame is a good frame for suggesting that the opening title sequence is part of the thriller genre because there are many aspects of it which follow the typical conventions of the thriller genre. For example, although you can see Benedict, his identity and his location still remain hidden. It is typical of the thriller genre for the antagonist’s identity to remain hidden. The lit candle adds a mysterious atmosphere so this also falls under the conventions of a typical thriller film because this location is at the antagonist’s house. Genre & how the opening title sequence suggests it

This frame introduces Sam Cooke, our protagonist. The main thing you notice about Sam when you first see him is his costume. His suit represents his intellect and his well paid job. When Benedict Black is first introduced he appears to be alone in the dark at a desk with some lit candles and you can’t see much of his body. This shows that he is possibly psychotic and his personality is secretive. How characters are introduced

This frame is representing our special effects. In the edit room we knew we wanted to make the difference between the flashbacks and the present time very clear so we added a black and white effect to the film so that the flashbacks would appear older. It also has an effect that Benedict Black is thinking about what happened and this works well for the narrative of our opening title sequence. Special effects