The first shot in the film is a low to the ground close up shot of the road as the camera follows along the road from the perspective of the front of a car. This grabs the audience’s attention as the majority of films would start with an establishing shot of a landscape rather than just a road. However, this does fit the franchise’s theme of ‘road warriors’.

I could use something like this in the opening of my own production to also grab the audience’s attention. However, there are a few complications; Firstly, I’d have to safely rig the camera to the front of a car. Secondly, the car would have to be travelling a significant speed to really grab the audience’s attention as it does here.

The second, close-range shot immediately introduces the driver of the vehicle and protagonist of the film (Max) and his canine companion. Max looks back and the camera turns back to a wide shot of the road behind them where three other vehicles can be seen on the horizon. Judging by the tone of the music these vehicles are in pursuit of Max and thus identifiable as villains to the audience.

I could use a similar camera angle to also depict antagonists in my own film opening, but it’d be quite difficult to film anything like this safely; Judging by the angle the shot is taken from as the camera turns the camera is mounted to the outside of the car. I’m not sure I’d be able to use this method but if possible I’d like to replicate this instead using other techniques. A green screen might be an option if I can figure out how to use editing software to add in backgrounds over the green screen.

If I were able to use this method, I’d need to figure out a way to mount the camera onto the side of a moving vehicle; Presumably the producers of the film used a custom-built camera rig to film this shot, which means I’d have to build my own as well as figure out how to attach it to whatever vehicle I plan to use it with.

The third shot is a close shot of Max’s dog; as the pursuers get closer, the dog turns to look at them and seems to show signs of concern; this further implies that the people giving chase are hostile.

I’ve considered the possibility of using animals as actors in my own film as well as people; an animal companion is a common sight in the post apocalypse genre and thus having one in my film would make a lot of sense. As for the type of animal, a dog would make the most sense but a cat could also be an option as it’d challenge the conventions of the genre somewhat.

Opening Sequence - Mad Max 2: Road Warrior

The next shot is a wide shot; Max’s car moves forward out of the way as the cars chasing him move into the camera’s view. This helps to transist into the next shot and also gives the viewer a sense of the chase’s speed as well as a view of the scenery, thus a sense of location.

For this shot I assume a second vehicle was used; this might also explain how the second shot in the opening with the camera turn was done. If so, this means a complicated rig may not be needed but a second, unseen car would have to be used and both vehicles would have to match each other’s speed until this shot when Max’s car moves forward. It’d take multiple shots, but if I can replicate this it’d look pretty awesome.

The next shot is one of the fronts of the pursuing vehicles; these are finally shown to the viewer to help clarify who's chasing who. It’s also filmed from the front which gives us an idea of Max’s perspective.

As with the previous shot, this was probably shot from a camera vehicle. However, this time it’s filmed looking back, which means from the back of the vehicle. The problem this presents is that I’d either need a vehicle with an open back like a pickup truck, or use a regular car and leave the rear boot door open to film through. The risk here is that for the scene to look good a decent speed would be needed. The issue here is that it’d be dangerous for anyone in the back of a truck, and a risk of the camera falling in either vehicle.

The next close-up shot shows us the face of one of Max’s pursuers; despite showing us this, his mask, glasses and helmet prevent us from identifying with them at all. This is important, as this character (SPOILERS!) isn’t a major antagonist and dies later in the sequence. Thus his character isn’t given any form of personality and is masked.

This use of masks to obscure character is useful; it makes it easier to act out these character’s parts, and gives no reason for the audience to sympathize with them.

As the masked driver looks to his left, the next shot, a medium shot, shows a pair of menacing people overtake on a high-speed motorbike. These people are on a bike rather than in a car, which shows a higher level of confidence over their abilities in comparison to the driver from the previous shot.

This shot’s intention is to introduce the audience to a more significant threat than the ones that were first apparent; rather than two cars, Max now has a bike to face as well. This introduction method could be useful in my own production.

The next shot is another wide shot similar to a previous one, with Max’s car driving past the camera to reveal his pursuers again, but this time with the bikers also in shot. The fact that the bikers are now leading the group of chasers further hints at their status over the others.

This shot helps update the viewer on the chase; whilst nobody has caught up to Max, new people have joined the chase.

The next sequence of shots is an eyeline match edit; the camera shows a close-up shot of Max’s face, then shows the road ahead. As dust clears, the approaching straight road is revealed to have crashed vehicles and debris scattered across it, which Max is heading straight for. The camera then returns to Max. His expression hardly changes; he’s seen things like this before, and his confidence in navigating through it is made clear to the audience.

These shots are difficult to do purely from an editing perspective; If I use this method I’ll have to make sure the close-up shots all match up, as well as the shots of the road. Otherwise, the audience will see the road, look back to the driver, then suddenly the car will have travelled too far down the road than they should have. There’s also the returning risks of filming from outside a moving vehicle; this time it’s the problem of mounting the camera on the front of a vehicle again.

The real problem with these shots is the health and safety aspects; not only is there a danger of losing the camera, but it’s also going to obscure the view of the person driving the car. I’ll have to take these issues into consideration when filming.

Eyeline shot repeats as Max navigates the wreckage on the road from a first-person perspective.

This is the same process as was mentioned on the previous slide.

The next shot’s a wide shot of the wreckage from the other side as Max passes through; the biker chasing him jumps off a ramp in the wreckage as he pursues.

Stunts are going to be an issue here; there’s a risk to the rider, as well as anyone nearby when filming, especially with motorbikes. Whether or not I’ll use many stunts is something I’ll have to consider.

This shot’s essentially the same eyeline shot as the previous ones with Max, but this time from the perspective of one of the bandits pursuing him. The difference here is that this guy doesn’t as skilfully navigate the wreckage, instead the shot ends as the car is about to hit the crashed car in the road.

Again, the eyeline shots and the issues surrounding them are covered on the previous slide.