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Spotlight on Year 11 Media

For Unit 2, Outcome 2 of Year 11 Media, we had to create an opening sequence for a fictional movie or tv series, of our own design. As part of the creation of this opening sequence, we had to go through the media production stages of pre-production, production, and post-production, to emulate the process that a filmmaker may go through.

The end product for my opening sequence was entirely different from my initial idea, which was a crime/heist movie opening sequence. I ended up creating the opening sequence for a thriller/mystery, and although not initially part of the plan, it evolved to become quite like the opening sequence of a tv series.

I wanted to make use of timing cuts and other edits with the soundtrack used, in order to keep things moving. Not much happens within the sequence, however it is heavily implied that something serious has already occurred. The lack of dialogue, and the presence of characters creates suspense and unease, as you don’t really know what’s going to happen next.

The music that I used, Polaris by Nebelung, was key in establishing the feel that I was aiming for. I think that this song worked quite well.

One of the key challenges that I encountered whilst making the sequence was getting the right lighting. An issue with filming at night is that it’s easy for a shot to be too dark, or too light. There were a couple of points at which a shot was too bright, or not bright enough, but for the majority of the shots taken, the lighting was bright enough to be able to properly see the shot, but not so bright that it breaks the immersion.

I really enjoyed working on this sequence and have learned a lot in doing so. I hope you enjoy the opening sequence to (the non-existent) film Exodus!

DAVID O'CONNELL
Year 11