Evaluation: Agent Davidson

"How does your media product represent particular social groups?"

From left to right: James Bond (Daniel Craig), Agent Davidson (Lee Davidson), Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland)

The two characters from popular culture that we turned to for inspiration for our leading character of Agent Davidson, were the world renowned secret agent James Bond, and Jack Bauer from the internationally successful thriller TV show "24". Both characters display traits that we decided would form the DNA of our lead character, such as strength and ingenuity as well as bravado and ruthlessness. They also have a similar wardrobe of clothing; both Bond and Bauer wear a selection of different stylish jackets, typically dark colours to reflect their personalities, so this is something that influenced the look of our lead protaganist.

Both James Bond and Jack Bauer are known to work for government agencies, but have also on occasion gone rogue, working against their superiors for reasons such as betrayal. We find Agent Davidson in a similar situation in our film opening, and so we wished to explore this side to both Bond and Bauer. Both of these characters represent the older male who has suffered pain at the hands of others - both have lost their wives to their enemies and have gone on paths of vengeance. While Davidson, an less experienced younger agent, is neither middle aged or ever married, we feel that his character is someone who could become a James Bond or Jack Bauer type figure in the future.

Evaluation: Characters

"In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?"

From L to R: Davidson (Lee Davidson), Stretzel (James Richardson), Yung (Richard Young), Caprivi (Me), Zubasu (Zubin Parekh), Thug #1 (Nicholas Ashurst)

In crafting the characters that would populate our opening sequence, we drew inspiration from several sources, predominantly in the action thriller genre. The central character of Agent Davidson was based on similar characters in films and televsion shows such as James Bond and 24, while the supporting characters had several influences in the world of cinema.

The way in which the characters were introduced in our opening sequence was fundamental in the success of it. Each of them has a deliberate entrance that is evocative of that character's nature and either conforms to or subverts the audience's expectations of said character. The first characters to be introduced are Stretzel, who emerges from the train in the background before quickly dissapearing, followed by Davidson, who steps into view in the foreground to show his importance in the sequence. This distinctive entrance, all in one shot, presents the 'cat and mouse' chase that is to follow. The following shot, however, is our first proper look at the protagonist, with his face fully visible in what we have dubbed 'the escalator shot'. This static shot is rather conventional, showing Davidson in a somewhat casual state, despite the nature of his objective, while the shot of Davidson emerging from the subway, showing his confusion as to the location of his target, is what can be deemed as his final introductory shot, as the audience is now provided all the necessary information about him.

In contrast, Stretzel, throughout most of the sequence, is depicted in quick flashes that tease the audience about his character. He is only on screen for mere moments at a time, and the shot where he snatches the mysterious bag from the floor is an example of our intention to make the audience query what his intentions are. The initial shot of Yung is strictly shown from behind, with the Trafalgar Square in the background, fully establishing the location, and the subsequent POV shot of Stretzel emerging from the crowd, gives Yung an almost omniscient status as he watches from above. The remaining characters in the sequence are given rather fleeting introductions, in keeping with the rapid pace of the sequence. Both Caprivi, and his stalker in the shadows are given mere moments on screen, while the thug at the end of the opening appears with little preparation for the audience or the character of Agent Davidson. Overall, we have crafted a wonderful cast of characters for our opening, each fulfilling their own role and being distinguishable from one another.

Evaluation: Story & Genre

"In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?"

The audience should be able to identify the genre of a film within its opening minutes. In our case, the opening to "Sins Of The Martyr" is characteristically that of an action thriller film, sharing many of the conventions that are conformed to in a variety of popular films of the same genre. Thrillers typically employ a number of enigmas, that immediately establish the film as a thriller, and ensure the audience is paying attention to every moment in order to see the lot unfold and the questions answered. Enigmas were a popular trope of director Alfred Hitchcock who once said "an audience would rather be confused than bored". This is something we took into a lot of consideration in the planning stages of our film, crafting a storyline for the opening that would be interesting and work as a prologue to events that could potentially follow.

There are various questions the audience will probably ask when watching the sequence - and each of these unanswered gaps in the plot line and the motivations of the characters were intentional. For instance, it is unclear why Yung is adamant at defying his colleagues but we establish and hint at the relationships between the characters, so the audience can assume and make up their own minds about them. The audience is also unaware of the nature of the mission that our protagonist, Agent Davidson, is on, but their cinematic experience of similar films that feature chase sequences and the like will provide enough of an idea as to why.

The case that is briefly featured in the sequence is an example of what has been coined as a 'MacGuffin' - an item that serves no other purpose than to drive the story forward. Again, Hitchcock famously used them, and in his words they were "the device, the gimmick...(that) must seem to be of vital importance to the characters. To me, the narrator, they are of no importance whatsoever". The use of this item, to put it frankly, allowed us to seemingly have come up with an elaborate plot line that could potentially be explored despite having put no thought at all into the case's true nature. However, with the opening sequence it wasn't important for it to be of any particular relevance, but again the audience can decide what it means.

Despite these enigmas and MacGuffins, both typical conventions of the thriller genre, there is of course the vital ingredient - action, oh, and it must be fast paced. Modern day audiences are accustomed to exhilarating action sequences on screen, and a little mystery and intrigue just won't cut it, so it was our duty we had to provide. Most Bond films take several minutes for any action to kick in - it takes us little over a minute and a half before all hell breaks lose. Our opening features chases across Trafalgar Square as well as brief but brutal altercation across some steps, in addition to the aforementioned enigmas and twists, all in the name of ensuring the audience is kept interested and stimulated both visually and mentally, which overall, I think we have succeeded in doing.

Evaluation: Titles

"In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?"

Our opening to "Sins Of The Martyr" also acts as a title sequence, introducing the cast and crew featuring in and behind the film. Below I will explain some of the creative decisions behind the order, as well as appearance of the various credits.

Universal Pictures

The opening begins with the Universal logo, its instant recognisability showing the audience the powerhouse behind the film's funding. We used the most recent Anniversary variant of the logo to ensure the film felt modern and contemporary, while also editing it so it would quickly turn monochrome, in fitting with the film's themes.

Studio Canal

The Studio Canal logo appears immediately after to demonstrate that the film is not exclusively commercial as the institution is known for some low-key fare. In addition, this logo, also presented in monochrome, is very stylish and interesting to look at. Smoke appears to engulf the words leading the sequence seamlessly into the actual film.

Universal Pictures, Studio Canal and Enigma Entertainment present

The names of the institutions fade in from the smoke, with Enigma Entertainment, our production company, included alongside the bigger names of Universal and Studio Canal, to give it an equal sense of importance. The words are wiped away by the oncoming train from the left of the frame, an effect which was achieved by timing a wipe effect frame by frame in synchronization with the footage, and can be seen later in some of the other titles.

A Film by Nicholas Ashurst and Philip Smith
This is usually the initial credit following the names of the production companies. We felt that our names were recognisable enough amongst our audience to include them immediately and reveal who the creative minds behind the project are. They fade in then rest on a black background for a while, which is representative of the importance of the names.

Lee Davidson

The credit for our leading actor is of course the first to follow that of the director. It fades in as the actor comes into view.

Typically we would have the title card for the film following the leading actor(s), but we made the creative decision to retain it till the end of the sequence to make it stand out.

Nicholas Ashurst
The cast credits then continue with the main supporting actor, to show his relative importance in the storyline.

James Richardson

We then establish another one of the supporting cast with this title at the top of the frame as to not obscure our leading actor.

Zubin Parekh

Appearing at the bottom of the frame, and continuing briefly into the following shot, is the name of an additional cast member.

with Philip Smith
We then begin to close the cast edits with an established actor who unfortunately does not play an especially major role in the movie. 'With' is used to show this, and this credit is one of the first to use an interesting visual trick, with the double decker bus moving across the frame to reveal the name behind it.

Richard Young
Yung is a relatively minor character in the grand scheme of things, in addition to this unrecognisability of the actor. His placement as penultimate casting credit reflects this.

and Lauren Chambers

This final casting credit is reserved for a minor, but pivotal character. 'And' is used to dictate that it is the ultimate casting credit, while another visual trick is employed, this time with a character moving from outside the left to the right of the frame, with the credit disappearing behind him in the process.

Casting by
Nicholas Ashurst and Philip Smith

With the conventions of movie credits, we continue with who picked the cast members whose credits had just appeared and are still fresh in the audience's minds. The wording for this and the rest of the credits is smaller in comparison to the cast.

Costume Design

Philip Smith

We move onto the technical credits with costume design.

Production Design

Nicholas Ashurst

Production design follows, against the backdrop of an establishing shot.

Editing by

Philip Smith and Nicholas Ashurst

As the shots become more tightly cut and the pace increases, the audience is fittingly presented with the editing credit. My name is given first billing due to my significantly greater involvement in this field.

Score Composed by

James Richardson

Prior to the score escalating, we are shown who the composer was, readying the audience for the incoming intensity.

"Saints and Sinners"

written and performed by Philip Smith

As with the James Bond films, the title theme song and the artist behind it, fictional in this context, follows.

Director of Photography

Philip Smith

The person behind the cinematography, myself, is the next to follow.

Fight and Stunt Co-ordination by

Nicholas Ashurst
This credit is shown concurrently with the stunt of Yung falling into the fountain, therefore it is an appropriate placement, alongside the fight that is soon to occur.

Screenplay by

Philip Smith

We begin the very final credits with the screenplay credit.

Based on a Story and Characters by

Nicholas Ashurst
By establishing that their is a prior development process to the screenplay, we make the story seem more in depth.

Associate Producers

James Richardson and Richard Young

As the most minor of the producing credits, this is shown first.

Executive Producers

Lee Davidson and Zubin Parekh
Both names contributed quite significantly to the project thus there names immediately precede that of the main producers and directors. There is another visual trick as the thug's head knocks the credit out of view.

Produced and Directed by

Nicholas Ashurst and Philip Smith

We fulfilled the role of both producer and director, so it made sense to combine both credits into one - we had also already established who the film was by so it would've been unnecessary to separate them. By being the penultimate credit, this will be one that the audience will remember.

SINS OF THE MARTYR
Finally, the title card appears over the beautiful shot of Davidson dissapearing into the darkness. The words appear via a creative wipe transition, growing larger towards the edges of the frame, before the screen is enveloped in smoke and the title dissapears with a loud sound effect, to give it as much impact on the audience as possible and look very stylish and professional.

Evaluation: Camerawork & Editing

"In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?"

A close up shot of Yung - an example of our usage of the 'rule of thirds'

We used a combination of rough, past paced camerawork, as well as more static cinematography, to create different effects throughout the sequence. A variety of shot types, ranging from close ups of the performers, notably our lead who has the most, to wider establishing shots that showcase the location and scale of the sequence, were used to explore a range of dramatic styles. Composition and framing was also very important. We utilised the 'rule of thirds' heavily to suggest a number of emotions of the characters such as fear and danger.

The aspect ratio was an informed decision from the very start - we recognise that many films are resented in the aspect ratio of 2:35:1, resulting in an ultra widescreen look that is more cinematic than traditional 1:85:1. Thus, we made sure the footage was shot with this in mind, avoiding having important visual information at the very top and bottom of the frame, as these areas would be cropped out of the image in post. The editing of the sequence was purposely very tightly cut to maintain a constant pace and increase the intensity.of the events that transpire, as well as to present the various characters' perspectives as they occur in different locations.

There are some minor qualms I have about the editing, however. For instance, there are some shots that are perhaps cut too quickly, notably during the fight on the steps, which can make the motion of the sequence a bit jerky, but for the most part, the style of editing is very much in line with what is expected of a high budget thriller. Once the rough cut was done, additional effects were applied to further increase the cinematic flair of the final opening, such as heavy colour grading to make the visuals look distinctive and stand out, as well as adding a layer of fine grain to emulate 35mm film stock, as is typically done in post-production of digital footage, and make our project look more professional. Overall, we are very pleased with the camerawork and editing of the piece, and I feel we have learnt a lot about cinematography in the process, the experience of which we hope will carry on to our next project where we will develop and explore other styles.

Evaluation: The Title of the Film

"In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?"

From day one, we decided that our film would not have an overly generic title such as 'Crossfire' or 'Red Handed', so we opted for a more interesting concept. We had worked on a number of titles before the storyline behind the film had even been conceived. One of those titles was 'Sins of the Martyr', which I had created as a play on the idiom 'sins of the father'. When I initially proposed the title to my fellow director, he dismissed the idea as I had simply replaced the 'word' father with 'martyr', but as we began to delve deeply into the connotations of the title, we began to see that any other title would pale in comparison. The title worked with the themes of the film on so many levels, as well as being relatively short and exciting, with a similar sound to the titles of the James Bond films, creating an engima as to what the 'sins' were and who the 'martyr' was. One problem we did encounter was that the majority of our cast and crew was unable to pronounce the word 'martyr' thus extensive training sessions, teaching them the correct pronunciation, were required. Overall, we are both highly satisfied with our title and its originality.

Evaluation: Setting & Location

"In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?"

One of the major successes of our opening was the use of major landmarks in London for our shooting locations. Both the London Underground and Trafalgar Square, in addition to the other recognisable trademarks of the city such as Double Decker buses, meant audiences would be more likely to have visited such places meaning the film would therefore resonate with them more.

The opening shots of the Tube give the audience an immediate understanding of the film's location, while our utilisation of Trafalgar Square fits alongside major films such as "Skyfall", which featured it in one entire shot, and next year's Tom Cruise sci-fi vehicle "All You Need Is Kill", which notably had the entirety of the Square closed off in November last year to traffic and pedestrians for filming purposes. Unfortunately we did not have this luxury, however we feel that we made good use of the location, and the vast number of unknowingly featured locals and tourists certainly adds to the production value of the piece.

A fountain statue, one of the notable features at Trafalgar Square

We also decided, due to the dates of filming and presence of a great big Christmas tree in the centre of Trafalgar Square, that the opening is set during the Yuletide season. However this is not made especially obvious during the sequence and is therefore rather irrelevant. A notable action film that has also been set during the Christmas period is the classic "Die Hard", which admittedly does a better job at it.

Overall, the use of setting and location is crucial in a film. While small, isolated locations unknown to the audience can be appropriate as well as effective in some genres of film, shooting an film in the vein of the Hollywood action genre can be boosted significantly by a great location, especially one that is internationally recognisable and world renowned. Drawing in a wider audience who are attracted by familiarity which, while not always necessarily a good thing, can be a major selling point in a major blockbuster.

Evaluation: Storyboard Animatic Vs. Final Opening

Over the course of production on a film, there will of course be a number of changes, which occur for a number of reasons. During our day of shooting we discovered a number of things that could work differently or had to be changed due to any problems we may have encountered. In this post, I will be detailing the changes from the early stages of pre-production on our film opening, for instance the the storyboard animatic, with the final product, accompanied with some still images to show the visual similarities and differences.

Using the following screenshots from the storyboard animatic and from the final opening sequence, I will be comparing the similarities and differences in the visuals and storyline.

This shot of the train emerging from the darkness of the underground tunnel was something we envisioned from the beginning...

...and is a shot that appears in the final opening. We think it was extremely effective as the very first shot of the film.

Again, this was a shot we had planned from the start. Originally, Davidson and Stretzel were in the same shot...

...however in the final version, Davidson drops into frame shortly after Stretzel has dissapeared. We were also faced with the problem of the ceiling grate facing a different direction, thus we filmed this shot from the opposite end of the station.

Again, with this shot we discovered that our expectations of the station were wrong...

...so we shot it from the other end. Suprisingly, the grate allowed full vision of Stretzel rather than just the feet, making him more easily identifiable.

This shot was one of our favourites from its initial inception...

...thus it was almost completely maintained as planned, with Davidson's legs in a remarkably similar position.

Very much like the shot preceding this one...

...it was filmed almost exactly the same way in the final product.

While Davidson appears much closer in the storyboard and the bus is headed to the left of the frame...

...we discovered the road was much wider and ran in the opposite direction so the shot had to be adjusted appropriately.

The shot was planned so the audience would be able to see both Yung and Stretzel...

...however the distance made this difficult and we ended up with a simple but more striking shot of Yung that also establishes the location.

The intention of this shot was to depict Yung overlooking Stretzel from his vantage point...

...whilst this kept, a difference was that in the end we decided to go for a briefcase with a strap which looked more stylish.

This is another example of the final product matching the art of the storyboard...

...however Zubasu is closer so he is more visible and the burger and sunglasses were dropped due to practicality.

Whilst the earpiece being dropped into the coffee was certainly a rather dramatic image...

...we discovered that it was more intense and exciting if Yung were to crush the earpiece under his foot.

I would liked to have shot Yung through the railings of the National Gallery, the positioning making for a rather evocative image pertaining to his characters fate...

...it was simply more practical and made him more visible with the final camerawork.

It would have a brilliant shot to feature all three major characters during this intense sequence...

...but with the large distances between them it would be hard to choreograph, and thus we simply filmed Davidson on his own.

The storyboard depicted Zubasu about to strike with the memorial in sight...

...however the shot worked better without the distraction of the memorial and as a continuation of the previous shot.

Much like in the storyboard where Yung falls into the fountain with the statue in the foreground...

...in the final opening a similar shot is achieved, however from the angle of Nelson's Column.

As discussed previously, we had planned for a while to have the fight sequence in the elevator...

...but events that transpired on the day meant the relocation of the fight to the nearby steps.

Originally, the thug was to perish in a much more gruesome manner with Davidson wiping his hands clean of blood...

but practicality meant he would die a more humane death and his body would create the striking image of a gun, fitting with the film's themes.

SINS OF THE MARTYR | TWO MINUTE PROLOGUE