The document contains ideas for the opening sequence of a film called "Last Masterpiece" about an artist named Manuela who vanishes, leaving behind her artwork and journals. Five potential opening sequences are outlined, ranging from showing Manuela working passionately in her studio to depicting a reporter announcing the cancellation of an exhibition of Manuela's work. The pros and cons of each sequence are discussed.

1. Polina Zalevskaya
AS Media Studies
Final film opening sequence ideas

2.  After discussion with my partner in media studies course, we decided that we
should do an opening sequence for a film idea called “Last Masterpiece”.
 It is about a girl, an artist that vanishes leaving behind her artwork, journals and
a critical masterpiece. The detective who got assigned the case gets charmed
by her writings and her work as he works to uncover the case. Weeks go by,
him reading and discovering more of her letters, messages, diving deeper into
her character and getting obsessed with the idea of her. The film ends on a sad
note as he finally succeeds to find her, but chooses to respect her wish to
remain hidden and lets her go.

3. 1. Manuela is in her studio, working on her masterpiece. Her movements and
brush strokes are very passionate and expressive. The objects around her
(brushes, palettes, cans with paint, journals, wine, books, folders etc.) are
shown in close ups which indicate her chaotic, artistic personality.
Pros
 easy to film
 location is available
 props are easily obtained
 only one actor required.
Cons
 Possibly not captivating enough

4. 2. Starts with a tracking shot of a woman walking hastily through the company,
carrying a file of papers. The workplace is very busy and loud. She enters an
office where the detective is sitting, drinking his morning coffee. He gets
flustered by her sudden intrusion. She flops the file on the desk in front of him
and informs him of the emergency. After she leaves, he puts his cup of coffee
down and thoroughly inspects the paper. He is shown flipping through the pages.
There is a zoom in of her picture from the file and the screen goes black.
Pros
 Easy to film in terms of camera work and props.
Cons:
 There is no intrigue, which means that audience might not have the interest
in continuing watching the film.

5. 3. The opening sequence starts with scenes of a man/preparing breakfast. Bread
from a toaster pops up, he pours milk, gets a box of cereal from a cupboard sits
down and yells out “Manny, you coming down to have breakfast or not?” After a
moment of silence, he gets irritated, gets up and starts going upstairs. A tracking
shot of him going up the stairs, murmuring random things expressing his
annoyance. When he comes to the studio, he sees that the studio is empty. After
he tries calling her phone, he dials all of her friends. As nobody knows where she
is, he decides to call the cops.
Pros:
 Easy to find location
 Easy to film, in the meaning of camera angles and movements.
 Audience will be left intrigued.
Cons:
 Requires a male actor.

6. 4. First shot is a tracking shot of a car from which few friends get out and go into
the building and have a conversation about an important exhibition that is about
to take place. Next is the shot of the reporter saying how the audience can not
wait for Manuela to reveal her artwork that she has been working on for the last
few months. There is a stage with a microphone on it that stays empty until a
man shows up and says that exhibition has to be canceled because Manuela can
not be there right now.
Pros:
 A fast-pace opening sequence which indicates the tempo of a whole movie.
 The ending is intriguing which will result in the audience wanting to continue
watching.
Cons:
 A lot of additional actors will be needed.
 Difficulties with finding and filming in the desired locations.
 May be hard to film the sequence, in the terms of camera work.

7. 5. An arial shot of the bus stop which transitions to a medium close up of
Manuela. Then a bus arrives, and she gets on, carrying her luggage. She sits down
and puts in earphones. Shots of the places she is passing by are shown. Her
tranquility is interrupted by an elderly woman sitting next to her, asking where
she is going to go. She takes out her earphone and says how she is yet to decide.
It finishes with a bus driving away.
Pros
 Easy to find location and obtain props.
Cons
 There is no intrigue, which means that audience might not have the interest
in continuing watching the fil.