Script for Evaluation - Questions 2, 3 and 4 - Film Podcast Discussing 'When Duty Calls'
ALEX: Welcome to ‘Lights, Camera, ACTION’, the
podcast dedicated to action cinema. This week we’ll be looking at three films from
our favourite genre. Later we’ll be dissecting one of the classics, ‘Point
Break’ and discussing its enduring appeal, and we’ll be talking to Edgar Wright
about his remake of ‘The Running Man’. But first, we’ve got a real treat. I’m
delighted to introduce a new filmmaker on the scene making his action film
debut with the wonderful ‘When Duty Calls’. It’s Sammy Barbanel. Hey Sammy.
SAMMY: Hi. It’s great to be here. I’m a huge fan
of the show.
ALEX: Thanks. We’re here to chat about the
opening sequence of your new film….I know that one of the things you had to
consider when creating your opening scene for ‘When Duty Calls’ was how it
would engage with your audience. Did you consider your audience when creating
your characters?
SAMMY: I did, definitely, as my research into all sorts of action films and the genre’s hybrids showed me that opening scenes frequently introduce important characters and establish their traits, which help shape the audiences expectations for the rest of the narrative.
This was my exact aim with my opening scene as I wanted to introduce the protagonist and align the audience with him so as the film develops, they are rooting for him and want him to be able to solve the mission. Additionally, I wanted to create a sense of enigma by only revealing right at the end of the scene the protagonist's previous life as a secret service agent. The shot choices and the way I filmed the protagonist during his morning routine, for example, was intended to create this intrigue.
Through close-ups and medium close-ups of his movements and facial expressions, I hinted that he is disciplined and skilled, suggesting a hidden past without explicitly revealing it. But I also asked the actor to hint through his body language and his reactions that he might not be ready to embark on such a dangerous task.
I also chose to use popular and upbeat non-diegetic music to emphasise to the audience the importance of understanding the protagonist and his behaviours, to add tension but also to add a slightly comic tone to the scene. This was intended to make the final moment — when he receives the call back to duty — feel impactful and shift the tone of the sequence.
When I analysed opening sequences from both within and outside of the action-comedy genre I noticed that filmmakers often work hard to introduce the protagonist to the audience and outline their skill/traits so the audience are easily aligned with them. I wanted the audience to feel hooked by the end of the opening scene and feel curious about how the protagonist will cope with the mission, especially after being introduced to him as domesticated, a little out of shape and not quite the heroic character he once was. I wanted the audience to connect with him first as a person before seeing him as a hero.
By portraying him as grounded – making, and burning toast, or allowing the coffee to overflow – the audience hopefully feel a bit of relatability. The reveal that he is being called back into the secret service was designed to surprise the audience slightly, while aligning with conventions of the action genre, leaving them wanting to see how his ordinary life will contrast with the dangerous mission ahead.
ALEX: So, how did you consider the ways shot
choices or other aspects of film language might help create expectations for
the audience about the characters you introduce in your opening sequence?
SAMMY: Well, I redrafted my shot list many times so that I was clear what meaning my shots and aspects of mise-en-scene would create for the viewer, particularly with the close up shots of the protagonist’s face throughout to highlight his reaction to everything he does, whether that’s waking up, working out or ruining his breakfast.
Additionally, I spent time planning the composition of the shots as I wanted to make it clear to the audience that he has a very domesticated life, therefore many of the shots include props you would expect to find in a typical household. I also thought carefully about my script, redrafting that a number of times so that I could create tension for the spectator. I limited dialogue from my protagonist, deciding that I wanted the visuals to communicate meaning about him to the audience, but I did script a voiceover which is heard coming from Alexa as if it’s a live radio station reporting the breaking news about the head of MI5 being killed.
This instantly raises questions for the audience, as it’s a break in the morning routine montage, but also provokes a very specific response from the protagonist, creating expectations regarding what he might do next. As soon as the protagonist gets a call (shown on his mobile phone as Headquarters, Emergency only) the audience are likely to assume that the call is linked to the breaking news. This is reinforced when the agent on the other line says “I’m sure you’ve heard the news, it’s been a while but we need you back” and the protagonist responds ‘yes sir I’m ready’. This condensed conversation makes it clear that the protagonist isn’t as ordinary as depicted in the opening scene and has a secret past life. This cliffhanger creates excitement and intrigue for the audience as it’s not what they were expecting the ending of the opening of the scene to be like. In terms of my storyline and the use of film language, I decided to conform to some of the conventions of genre in my opening sequence, whilst challenging others. For instance, my film follows Aristotle’s classic three act structure as I introduce the protagonist and his traits to the audience so they can connect with him instantly (especially because he is portrayed as ‘ordinary’ and more relatable for viewers) at the beginning, which is known as the set-up. The end of the opening scene features the inciting incident as the protagonist receives a call back to duty, therefore creating a conflict that puts the plot into motion.
This allows for the rising action to follow on where tension builds through events of the protagonist navigating the obstacles (such as having to kill his wife, who it will be revealed is also a spy) before the film reaches the climax and eventually ends on the resolution. In these ways I am fulfilling audience expectations, but I also wanted to keep the audience on their toes, so I decided to challenge expectations also. The main way I challenged genre conventions was through the representation of gender, deliberately avoiding the portrayal of the male protagonist as a stereotypical action hero from the start.
Initially, he is presented as an atypical protagonist in terms of gender and age, as he leads a domestic life, has a sore back, and performs everyday tasks, often badly, such as working out, making breakfast and reading the newspaper. Few of his action skills are revealed at this point, so the audience can’t immediately identify him as a hero – certainly not as one in the same mould as Tom Cruise’s character in the ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise or Bruce Willis’s character in the ‘Die Hard’ films. This presents him as more realistic and relatable, while also creating enigma about his secret identity - which is revealed at the end of the scene.
Throughout the scene I used a range of shot distances – long shots to show the protagonist doing certain action such as working out, stretching out of bed and reading the newspaper, and closer shots of the protagonist’s reactions to things like burning the toast and the coffee overflowing, and for the intense conversation at the end of the scene – to draw the audience’s attention to the importance of the phone call. My favourite shots are the close up of the protagonist doing a press up as he comes in and out of the frame, as it looks quite stylish and hints that he may be capable of coping with what lies ahead, and the medium shot of the protagonist reading the newspaper as the distance of shot shows just the protagonist’s eyes as he reads, whilst also allowing the audience to see all aspects of mise-en-scene including the domestic location, his gym costume and the props such as the newspaper and his breakfast. This shot also helped me emphasise the domestic nature of the opening scene, setting up the contrast between what the character is like now compared to both his past and his future.
ALEX: I know the shots you mean, both shots are simple in their construction but are so effective at introducing the protagonist and his traits to the audience. Now moving on to the marketing and distribution of the film. How would ‘When Duty Calls’ be distributed if it was a real film?
SAMMY: It’s an action film, well, an action comedy, made by Paramount Pictures, Skydance media and Millennium films, companies with a successful track record with the genre, so I would hope that ‘When Duty Calls’ would have a super-wide, saturation cinematic release in multiplex cinemas, and we’re planning IMAX screenings.
We actually shot some of
the more intense action scenes that come later in the narrative on IMAX
cameras, so audiences will be in for a treat if they catch the film in IMAX. The
action comedy sub-genre or hybrid has become increasingly popular on streaming
platforms in recent years with Netflix making action comedies such as ‘Back in
Action’ and ‘The Fall Guy’, which had limited cinematic releases before quickly
being exhibited on streaming sites such as Netflix, so I think the film will
find a home on similar streaming platforms. I’m old school though, and because
it is a popular genre I really want the audience to see the film in the cinema,
on the largest screen possible. That’s where action films work best.
ALEX: What about marketing? Would you go
traditional or viral?
SAMMY: With Paramount Pictures’ backing, there would obviously be funding for a huge marketing campaign as they are part of one of the largest multimedia conglomerates. Therefore, we’re looking at incorporating all the traditional elements of marketing campaigns such as a range of trailers including teasers, theatrical trailers and many TV spots closer to the film’s release featuring the intense action from the film. Obviously, considering our target audience, viral marketing will be crucial and these trailers alongside other materials will be released on social media as well as being shown before other action films at the cinema.
We’re going for a range of character posters and posters which foreground the film’s release on IMAX. As we want to reach as wide an audience as possible with ‘When Duty Calls’, using a range of social media platforms would be key such as TikTok for teens, Instagram for young adults and Twitter for those older audience members. Get ready for a social media blitz.
ALEX: Any thoughts about when the film would be
released?
SAMMY: It’s an action-comedy blockbuster, so I want the release date to maximise audience viewings. I believe a summer release date will be the most ideal, especially if it coincides with a bank holiday weekend.
Therefore, Paramount have decided that the film will be released on
the 28th of August, giving it a four day weekend window which could increase
the audience turn out and help it at the box-office. Stick the date in your
diary.
ALEX: Thanks for that Sammy, I will. We’re just
going to take a quick break, but we’ll be back soon to talk to Sammy about the
filming and editing of his new action-comedy ‘When Duty Calls’.
ALEX: Hi. Welcome back to this week’s edition of
‘Lights, Camera, ACTION!’. We’re talking to Sammy Barbanel about his action-comedy
film debut ‘When Duty Calls’. So, before the break Sammy we talked a little
about some of the creative decisions behind your new film and some of the plans
regarding marketing and its release. Can we turn to the making of the film to
get an insight into how your production skills developed during the course of
making the opening sequence for ‘When Duty Calls’.
SAMMY: Of course…well, it was quite long pre-production
process, but this certainly paid off when it came to filming. Filming took a
few days, what with re-shoots and adding new ideas, and there were so many ways
that my filming and editing skills developed during the creation of my opening
sequence.
ALEX: Great, shall we start with the filming of
the scenes?
SAMMY: Well, I thought I would be okay with filming,
as I like to film stuff with my friends on my phone, however I had never filmed
on a digital camera before, and it was quite different to filming on a phone!
So, I had to learn how to use the camera and its different functions, and also
to practice with a tripod. I did quite a lot of test filming which helped me
gain confidence with the camera so I could use it efficiently throughout the
shooting process.
ALEX: Can you tell me a little about the test
shooting you did before actual filming began?
SAMMY: Of course…I did lots of it. Practicing all different types of shot distances, angles and camera movement, alongside working out how to use the zoom feature effectively and get well-framed shots, was something I did way before I started shooting properly. Shooting my family at home, but using the types of shots I had on my shot list, helped me learn what worked and what didn’t, allowing to see what the shots in my shot list would look like in reality.
I tried out some techniques that I felt didn’t work and didn’t make it into my final film. A good example of this was the ‘Reservoir Dogs’-style shot of the lead actors (played by my mum and dad) facing each other with guns like Mr Pink and Mr White.
Although the shot looked good, it didn’t make it into the final edit as it changed the pace and tone of the sequence. It’s a shame as it makes a great intertextual reference, something that Tarantino would be proud of! The experience of filming test shots, even knowing they wouldn’t go in my finished production, really helped me work out the most effective ways of achieving certain shots, so, that when it came to my ‘real’ shoot, it was much more time efficient. Good examples were the workout scenes such as the press-ups, shoulder presses and treadmill shots, which I filmed initially during the test shoot from different angles and wider shots. This made me realise that it was difficult to get the framing right with a steady camera and therefore the test shooting helped me make the necessary changes to my shot list to get the best possible shots for the opening scene itself.
By the time I filmed the real shots, I had practiced shooting lots of different locations at different times of the day. This also helped me work out which kind of lighting worked best. Initially, during testing, I used a lot of camera movement to give my shots more energy, or I zoomed into the characters, but I realised looking at the footage that the most effective shots were those that were static. I also practiced a range of distances and angles which helped me work out which types of shots to include and exclude in my final shot list when it came to the actual shooting of the opening scene.
ALEX: Shooting digitally must help you as a
filmmaker, right?
SAMMY: Definitely. The fact I was using a digital camera helped immensely as I was able to review and re-watch footage instantly. This meant that I could make changes on the spot and saved me lots of time as I was able to complete sections of my shooting schedule each day I filmed. As the whole of the opening sequence was filmed in and around my house, I was able to do many re-shoots and try using different rooms, which was very helpful in getting the best possible shots, those looked the most visually appealing. The large memory in the digital camera meant that I could film lots of shots, shooting many alternatives to the shots on my shot list, which meant I had so many more options when it came to editing my sequence together. I probably only used 10% of all the shots I filmed, so really when it came to editing, this was the harder part of the task as I had to pick the best shots out of all the options, as I had redone each shot from multiple angles, distances, using different lighting and mise-en-scene. In reality, this saved me having to reshoot as I already had more than enough coverage.
ALEX: How did you find the editing process?
SAMMY: When I first sat down in the editing
suite at college, I felt pretty confident. Because I had filmed so much extra
footage I knew I would have a lot of options. But I was also quite nervous
because it was a completely new experience for me, having never edited before. However,
I picked it up pretty quickly and by the end I was much more confident with the
whole process. Having lots of extra shots in addition to those on my shot list definitely
helped.
ALEX: What software did you use to edit?
SAMMY: For the editing, I used Adobe Premiere Pro which at first was tricky because there were so many different tools and options, and I didn’t even know how to do the simplest tasks such as selecting footage.
First, I had to back up all the shots on an extra USB stick, just in
case something went wrong and I lost the files. Then I sorted all the shots
into specific folders or bins so that it was easy and accessible for me to find
exactly what I needed during the editing. I put all the waking up shots, for
example, in one bin, and all the shots of working out in another. Separating
the shots made the whole process much less time-consuming and allowed me to
focus on smaller scenes within the opening sequence, one at a time, which was
much easier and didn’t feel as daunting. I also learnt the basics of editing on
Premiere Pro such as cutting, trimming, and piecing the shots together in order
to cut out the unnecessary seconds at the beginning and end of a shot that
didn’t need to be in the final piece.
ALEX: You edited the audio for the sequence as well,
right?
SAMMY: Yes, that’s right. I loved learning how to
edit the audio, adding the music I had selected to a separate timeline and
matching it with the visuals. I used keyframes to gradually change the volume
of the audio, which allowed me to make the non-diegetic music fade out slowly
as Alexa is heard in a key moment in the scene. I also applied a crossfade so
the transition from non-diegetic to diegetic audio felt smooth and natural.
Using this tool definitely made my opening sequence feel more polished and more
like the opening of a real film.
ALEX: Did the experience help you with your A2
film marketing project?
SAMMY: Absolutely. When it came to planning,
filming and editing my trailers, my experience with the production process for
my opening scene was extremely valuable. I knew what I could achieve, both with
the filming and editing, and this allowed me to make some really creative
choices for my trailers.
ALEX: Thanks Sammy. We’re going to take another
quick break on ‘Lights, Camera, ACTION!’. But we’ll be back soon for the final
part of our chat with filmmaker Sammy Barbanel.
**********
ALEX: Welcome back to ‘Lights, Camera, ACTION!’
for the last part of our chat with Sammy Barbanel about his new action-comedy
‘When Duty Calls.’ So, Sammy, can you talk us through the technologies you used
during this project.
SAMMY: Sure, I used a variety of technologies
throughout the planning, filming, and post-production of my opening sequence
for ‘When Duty Calls’. This included using online research to gather
information, digital cameras and other equipment to capture the footage, and
editing software to assemble and finalise the sequence. I also used voice memo
on my phone to record my director’s commentary and this audio for my podcast,
before editing it with Adobe Audition.
ALEX: Great, can we start by discussing the
hardware you used?
SAMMY: The camera I used to film shots for my
opening scene was a Panasonic 4K digital camera, which made the filming process
very smooth and, because of the large memory, meant that I could film lots of
extra footage, adding to the shots I had written down on my shot list. I was
also able to watch my footage back instantly, so I immediately knew if I had to
do another take. Extra takes were inevitable, especially when the actors had
dialogue, but this definitely saved me so much time and meant that I kept
re-shoots to a minimum.
In addition to the camera, I used a tripod to capture steady
shots, and a microphone (and the audio editing software, Adobe Audition) to
pre-record the news bulletin that plays on Alexa which alerts the protagonist
to his new mission. The hardware for editing was a PC and a laptop in my
college’s editing suite, where I was able to use the editing software, Adobe
Premiere Pro to put together my sequence.
ALEX: Tell us a little more about the software
you used.
SAMMY: Premiere Pro allowed me to place the clips in separate sections called bins, to trim clips, and place clips on a timeline to help shape the continuity of the opening sequence - this helped save a lot of time and was crucial in make the scene flow seamlessly. Additionally, I was able to add titles, of production companies, the name of my film and cast and crew members throughout, that I had created on Photoshop, to help make the opening scene appear more authentic.
For all of the research into opening sequences I conducted, I used Blogger to present this information, creating separate posts on differing parts of my research and planning. Using Blogger meant that I could bring my research to life through the addition of images from action films, video clips of action opening scenes (often accessed through YouTube), links to websites I used and audio clips (which I uploaded to Blogger from Soundcloud). Using Blogger also allowed me to keep track of my research and planning and to keep my work organised.
ALEX: And what about online tools?
SAMMY: Accessing websites was crucial to almost all of my research and planning, from helping me decide which certificate my film should have to deciding what font to use for my titles. I used the BBFC website to understand how films were rated and to identify different action film certificates, so when it came to deciding the rating for the film my opening sequence belongs to I knew what to rate it based of other action films through my understanding of how the BBFC decide ratings for action films based on levels of violence, language and injury detail. To help me decide which font would be most appropriate to use in the titles for ‘When Duty Calls’ I used websites such as DaFont.com and font meme for research. I used Dafont to decide which font would genre-appropriate for my title cards in my opening sequence. Due to the wide selection on DaFont and the fact that the website is free to use, this allowed me to experiment with many different fonts to see which one matched my film the best, helping me visualise the text as it would appear in my opening sequence. Font Meme splits fonts into film genre categories and this meant I was able to look at fonts specifically used within my chosen genre. This helped me in choosing Bebas Neue as the font I wanted to use. I also used YouTube at the beginning of my research so that I could look at existing opening sequences from both within and outside of the action genre. I was able to embed these clips onto my blog so that they could be viewed alongside my analysis of typical conventions.
Other key websites that were helpful with my research and planning and helped save a lot of time included IMP Awards which allowed me to download posters for films, IMDB to gain information about existing action films and action-comedies, such as researching names of crew and their bibliography, finding out which production companies produced certain films, and finding out the genre and age certificate for each film. The Art of the Title website was incredibly useful for finding title sequences for action films and Filmsite.org helped with research into the action genre so that I could understand genre conventions in more detail.
ALEX: Well, Thanks Sammy. It’s been great to
hear about some of the processes behind the creation of your opening sequence
for ‘When Duty Calls’.
SAMMY: Thanks. It was my pleasure.
ALEX: Check out ‘When Duty Calls’ when it’s released in cinemas on August 28th. Coming up we’ve got an in-depth look at action classic ‘Point Break’… (FADE OUT)
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