The first key frame is a shot of the black car (the colour black infers evil/mystery thus sets the atmosphere as unpredictable with regards to what the audience is thinking) which is in motion and is 'skidding' implying a sense of urgency. The opening scene sets the storyline of the film as the sense of urgency implies that either he has done something wrong or he is in a hurry to carry something out etc you get the impression that there is some importance with regards to the lead gangster (the one who steps out of the speeding car). This first shot is used in numerous professional films as the opening scene; a good example of this is the film 'Fast & Furious'. We chose to do the film in black and white in order to give the idea that the plot is serious and gloomy at the same time i.e. makes the audience feel anxious as to what will occur next. Again, there have been a number of films who have used this idea effectively with similar plots for example; 'sin city'. Also, we added film titles to the opening shots with names of the production team and casting members etc due to the fact that this is merely always the case for existing films no matter what the genre. The fact that the film is made in black and white makes the genre of our film seem more apparent: thriller/ Film Noir
The title of the film originated from the song written by Kenny Rodgers. 'The Gambler' brings a thrilling effect to the audience as it gives them an idea as to what the film is about but as they watch the film there's a slight twist (this is the reason why the title of the film is showed at the end). The style of the writing originates from current gangster films thus we wanted to follow the trend for example; 'Gangs of New York'. There are three main locations of the film so that we could use the flashback as a sub-plot; the first location is in a rural area as seen at the beginning of the film when the car skids to a hault, this is seen in existing films such as James Bond. the second location is set in an abandoned office/warehouse in order to imply that the area is derelict. the final location is set under a motorway bridge again in a rural area to give the impression that there's no one around when the 'deal' takes place (a stereotypical location for a 'deal').
All cast have a stereotypical costumes for the 'gangster image' which is a black suit with no tie as they are seen to be crude businessmen. Again, stereotypical props are used to imply the gangster image such as; guns and knives etc an example of this is in the film 'Reservoir Dogs'.
We methodically planned our shots (didn't improvise) by making a storyboard from our own storyline.
The editing was made to be slow so as to create a tense atmosphere throughout the film especially towards the end of the film.
The main character is introduced first as he smoothly steps out of the car and 'fixes' his suit. The opening scene suits the main character because he appears to be of some importance when there are low angle shots of him to show that people look up to him. The next character is introduced as a close-up in a different location which again sets the atmosphere due to the fact that he's tied up motionless, then as the camera zooms out it is clear that the main character has something to do with the fact that he's tied up. The final character appears on the floor semi-concious which makes the audience want to why thus are eager to carry on watching the film.
Many existing film openings have influenced and given us ideas towards our own opening scene, If these opening existing scenes are successful then surely a similar opening will also be successful. We used different transitions so as to portray the idea of a time switch (fade to white/fade to black) also we distorted the camera focus to indicate the semi-conciousness of the actor which has been used in films such as 'Casino Royale'. These were all very effective due to the film being in black and white.
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