Camera Angles for our Opening Sequence

After merging video clips and being able to take a look at them during the editing process, we had realized the specific camera angles that we had used for our "Split" opening sequence as these camera angles are also significant to the sort of mood and feel we want to achieve with our opening sequence since being able to include three personalities of one main protagonist in the duration of an opening sequence worth of two minutes is no easy feat.

                                   

Long shot (Full shot):

We used the 'long shot' camera angle significantly to express the three appearances of the main protagonist, Bradley Keano, in the opening sequence as he dons a Nike football kit, a black bomber jacket w/ casual jeans and school smartwear and because of the fact that Nile O-Meally Newell had used the mirror to show him wearing these types of clothing prior to the scene that would follow up after it (e.g. Nile wearing a football kit - next scene - Nile dribbling with the football), it was important to actually use a 'long-shot' camera angle as it also shows how these three personalities differentiate from each other as being an academic student is completely different from being a notorious gang member and living the lifestyle of a gang member fighting for survival and a good-natured lifestyle is completely different from being a globally-known football star. We had really tried to express that contrast in our opening sequence despite the fact that it is two minutes so we knew that these scenes would have the chance of clashing with each other since the sequence may feel a little out-of-place.



Extreme long-shot:

We had also decided to use the 'extreme long-shot' camera angle during the football scene in our "Split" opening sequence where Nile O'Meally-Newell (Bradley Keano) dribbles his way past the seven football cones before taking a definitive shot at an empty net (which he missed once). The reason we had decided to use this specific camera angle is because it fulfils the purpose of expressing thrilling action and the fact that football scenes usually have exhilarating and swift pacing means that the 'extreme long shot' angle would have been the best decision as the 'extreme close-up' angle of the feet being used to shred its way past the obstacles (which was my initial idea at one point) would be quite difficult to execute.

In addition to that, it would be more beneficial this way as it would also show the hard work and determination that Keano is putting into his football life so that he is able to deliver with a top-notch performance which then leads him onto greater things later on in the movie so it gives the audience a sense of understanding since they would think, "Okay, yeah, this guy's training for either a school football team or trying to get into a big team" meaning that they would see the potential possibilities for the main character and they would also not feel confused with the opening sequence since even the opening sequence has to be to-the-point and addressing the audience straightaway so that the rest of the storyline is then played out in visible detail later on.

Over-the-shoulder shot:

We had decided to use this specific "over-the-shoulder" shot for the scenes where Nile O'Meally-Newell is dressing up in his costumes (being the smartwear/hoody/football kit) because it would have been a better camera angle to utilize rather than a simple shot of the main protagonist wearing the clothing and then moving onto the next scene as an 'over-the-shoulder' shot felt more immersive to us and we, as a group, feel that it would be more immersive to the audience since an over-the-shoulder shot is more of a perspective camera angle than a general camera angle which is simply taken of a person.

Bird's eye view:

We decided to use a ''bird's-eye-view'' in our opening sequence for more general reasons this time since we were experimenting with camera angles to see which specific camera angle would suit what we were trying to go for with our opening sequence as this shot was taken during the scene where Bradley is revising for his upcoming exams before Tyreese (Liban) attempts to pull him away from revision but fails to do so.

It is more clear that we were experimenting with camera angles since bird's eye views are usually taken specifically to express the scope of a setting (e.g. if the intro of a movie wanted to show modern-day LA, it would take a bird's eye view of the palm trees and landmarks/buildings) whereas we used it in different context by wanting to use this camera angle for the conversation that Tyreese and Keano have but it could also be analyzed as the ''downfall'' of Keano if he was to accept to Tyreese's offer and forget revising for his exams hence why the bird's eye view is a heightened perspective looking down at Keano to express that if he were to accept the gang lifestyle in the movie, his overall life would start descending slowly as his success would also start to decrease (so, to put it in simple words, the 'bird's eye view' shot represents how Brad may lose everything and hit rock-bottom if he doesn't leave the gang).