Script for Evaluation - Question 1 - Director's Commentary for 'When Duty Calls'

I will be recording and editing my evaluation for Question 1 as a director's commentary later today. Below is the script which I am going to record in smaller paragraphs on Voice Memo, before assembling it using Adobe Audition. Once I have done that I will add the edited audio as another layer on the timeline of the opening sequence (which I will loop because of the length of my commentary). Once I have completed this editing on Premiere Pro, I will upload the director's commentary onto Google Drive and YouTube after it's finished.

Script for Evaluation Question 1 - Director's Commentary

Hi, my name is Sammy and this is my director’s commentary for the opening sequence for the action-comedy film ‘When Duty Calls’. 

In the opening scene I incorporated many typical conventions of the action genre, such as a typical ‘hero’ protagonist who faces an obstacle and has to “save the day”, a narrative that follows Aristotle’s three-act-structure, fast-paced editing to create intensity and excitement for the spectator and an intense, upbeat soundtrack that instantly signals the genre to the audience.

Even before I knew what genre my opening sequence would belong to, I watched and researched lots of opening sequences from a range of genres, including the teen film ‘The Breakfast Club’, the detective mystery ‘Knives Out’, the science-fiction film ‘Interstellar’,  the horror comedy hybrid ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and the action spy film ‘Skyfall’. This gave me a solid appreciation of the purpose of opening sequences regardless of genre, and I noticed that opening scenes often focused on one or more of the following: introducing main protagonists and their traits, establishing setting, establishing genre and creating enigma.

My opening sequence largely focuses on one of these key conventions, that of introducing the main protagonist and his traits to the audience, but I was also keen to create a sense of enigma - by portraying an ‘ordinary’ man living a normal, domestic life before gradually revealing his hidden identity as a former secret service agent – and also making it clear to the spectator the genre of the film. I achieved these aims through the use of a montage (a pattern of editing very common in my chosen genre) of the protagonist’s typical morning routine that hints that he might be out of shape and not the conventional action hero – for example he has a sore back, he allows his coffee to overflow, he burns his toast and he reads a newspaper in a domestic setting. I wanted the audience to quickly become aware of his characteristics and to be instantly aligned with him, as they would be able to relate to a protagonist who isn’t ‘perfect’ or super fit. This connection is heightened when his past as a secret service agent is revealed at the end of the scene, serving as a cliffhanger and creating enigma as a way of gripping the spectator and encouraging them to watch on to find out how he will cope with the mission.   

It really wanted to use conventions of genre, so I looked at a number of opening sequences from existing action films including ‘Commando, ‘Children of Men, ‘Logan and ‘Mad Max Fury’, as well as other films that were part of the action-comedy sub genre including ‘True Lies’ and ‘Back in Action’.

‘True Lies’, ‘Back in Action’ and ‘Commando’ were particularly inspirational me in the structure of my opening scene but also the way I created my ‘hero’. Whilst each of these opening sequences present the protagonist as highly skilled and experienced, they also show the characters’ personal lives and characteristics outside of their action capabilities, so that audiences can position themselves with the protagonist more easily. I wanted to take a similar approach with the opening of ‘When Duty Calls’, and this is seen by highlighting the protagonist’s normal morning routine which shows his traits now he is domesticated but also hints at the skills he once had. Hence, I show him having a rigid work out which shows his discipline as a character, but hints that he is struggling with this because he is out of shape. The presentation of his skill and discipline mirrors the way 'Commando' and 'True Lies' establish the strength and control of their protagonists in the opening scenes, before the central conflict unfolds.

In the opening scene for ‘Back In Action’ I noticed a sense of enigma/mystery being created while also balancing relatability, creating a lighter tone for the film than many conventional action films. The suspense is created gradually, as the audience become aware that the protagonists aren’t ‘ordinary’ people but actually have a secret spy role. This is what I intended with my opening sequence as I wanted audiences to feel engaged from the beginning but also aware that not all seems right, something that is confirmed at the end of the scene when it is revealed that the domesticated, slightly clumsy man actually was a highly capable secret agent in the past and is being called back for a mission that only he can solve.

Looking at the opening sequences for these films gave me inspiration for how to establish the action genre to the audience instantly without having a huge fight scene or starting the film in media res in the middle of a mission. These films, specifically ‘Commando’ and ‘Back in Action’, encouraged me to focus on presenting the protagonist as a middle-aged man who seems to live an ordinary life with a routine, and gave me the opportunity to focus on the smaller details of character rather than the action set pieces found in the genre. Instead of wide shots featuring explosions, this decision gave me the opportunity to focus on the use of close ups (especially on the protagonist’s face and certain crucial props), the protagonist’s figure behaviour (to present a character type who is atypical), the non-diegetic upbeat music (which is less serious in tone because of its familiarity), the domestic location and the fast-paced editing. I wanted to make it clear to audiences that the opening sequence is almost the calm before the storm as the shift in narrative from domestic normality to high-stakes action is hinted at in the final moments as he gets a call back into duty.

Throughout the planning, I logged all of my research onto a blog so that I could quickly and easily refer to my findings when creating my opening scene. This included noting all the conventions of action films, shot lists and storyboards I could refer to, and appropriate music for my chosen genre. This was incredibly helpful when creating an authentic opening sequence from the genre as it helped me ensure that I incorporated the conventions I had found when looking at action films and action-comedies, such as ‘Mad Max Fury Road’, ‘Mission Impossible Fallout’ and ‘True Lies’.

Even small details, such as my font, for example, conformed to the usual conventions of my chosen genre. My research suggested that usually the fonts used in the action genre are typically bold, simple and clear to make an impact, but also to highlight to the audience the intensity and excitement of these films. Sans serif fonts are the most common in action films titles as they appear clean which emphasises the title to the audience, and they are very dominant looking which conveys a strong message that these films are full of thrilling action scenes. After looking at many different fonts and seeing how they worked with my title ‘When Duty Calls’, I conducted a focus group with classmates which helped me understand their views on what title they thought ‘screamed’ action and summarised my plot in just a title. Eventually, it came down to two fonts including Bebas Neue and Top One. I decided on using Bebas Neue as it was a bolder, sharper and had a stronger look which aligns better with the action genre and my film's themes of duty and discipline. Moreover, this font was used for films within the genre such as 'John Wick' and the 'Dark Knight', and would therefore create specific genre expectations for the spectator.

I also noticed during my research that opening sequences generally have production company logos at the beginning, before the action commences. I have incorporated this convention into my scene by including the production company logo for Paramount Pictures and title cards for the other two production companies - Millennium Films and Skydance Media. All my production companies have a track record of making action films, with Paramount Pictures known for producing some of the most well-known action franchises such as the Mission Impossible collection and Jack Reacher (both in association with Skydance media). Additionally, Millennium Films has co-produced the ‘Has Fallen’ franchise. The credits or titles are shown throughout my opening sequence, which I found was a common convention. These titles include the production company names and the name of the film, but also some of the actors’ names and the name of various crew members, including the director.

To find the right type of music for my opening sequence, I watched and researched different action films and listened to soundtracks including those for ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘Back in Action’, ‘The Bourne Identity’ and ‘Skyfall’. What I noticed was that most of the music was very intense to create an exciting tone from the off as frequently these films started in media res. Therefore, I did further research into action-comedy soundtracks to get a clearer understanding of music used to introduce a protagonist in this sub-genre. My main inspiration came from 'Back in Action' which used 'Doo Wop' by Lauryn Hill which is a chilled, upbeat song and 'The Fall Guy' which used 'Thunderstruck' by AC/DC. 

By using upbeat rock music at the beginning it creates a thrilling tone and engages the audience instantly, but I noticed that action comedies often used existing, popular songs from the rock genre rather than an orchestral score created for the film. It is this familiarity that brings a smile to the audience’s faces so that was one of the reasons why I decided to use 'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC.

In terms of the representation of social groups, I have focussed on presenting the male protagonist in a way that subverts the typical action film stereotypes – as usually they are immediately presented as heroic, confident and elite yet in my opening scene the protagonist will be portrayed in more of a realistic way by highlighting his ‘ordinary’, more domesticated life. By presenting him in this way, I encourage the audience to connect with him so that when they witness him undergo the mission they care about him. 

The call back to duty creates suspense as the audience are shocked to find out the protagonist has hidden expertise and is more like a traditional male action protagonist than expected. This approach challenges the audience’s expectations of the genre as even the heroic protagonists can be grounded and human before the action begins. 

Finally, my research into films such as 'Back in Action', 'True Lies', and 'Commando' showed me that even protagonists who are initially portrayed as highly skilled agents are sometimes given moments of everyday life to make them more relatable and engaging for audiences. This is the approach I aimed to reflect in my opening scene.