Here are a list of websites that i have used that have helped me in stages of all my coursework such as finding information on production companies, comparing other film openings to ours to add similar features and also finding out what age groups tend to watch certain genres.
Youtube
http://www.film4.com/
http://www.imdb.com/search/title?genres=documentary
http://www.slideshare.net/KamikazeWarBat/3-documentary-cc-target-audience-and-market-research
Class Evaluation
We set up a questionnaire for some other A level students to fill out during a lunch time while watching our film
The questions in this questionnaire include?
What gender are you?
How old are you?
Is the genre clear? If so, what is it?
Did you enjoy our film opening?
Would you watch the rest of our films?
Did you get confused at any point? If so why?
Even if its a genre you don't normally watch, is there anything you would improve?
Question 7
Here is the link to my preliminary task: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I59o5rHbW3U
Here was the title for our first shot of the prelim.
As you can see the title is not in line and also the font isn't appropriate for our genre.
In this shot as well you can see that the camera shot is blurry, this shows poor camera skills and also that we rushed the filming stage.
The hardest part of this task was overcoming the editing stage, this was new programme which we hadn't used before. We had to learn to put different effects in and also cut out any parts of the film which looked poor such as bad filming or shots of black. I thought our effort overall was average as we had many parts which didn't work.
The music in my video was too loud and blocked out the talking of the actors in the first part. Fading into different shots as well was repetitive and nothing different was used. The ending was poor as when i took the shot i didn't cut the shot so Sophie continued to walk which looked unrealistic.
As you can see in this screenshot we have added production companies for our opening where in the prelim task we just went straight into the first shot.
In this shot you can see the titles are a lot more realistic and organised as the order in which we show our group's roles which is similar to other documentaries out there. In our prelim task i only showed one title and didn't include roles such as: music, editing, filing etc as you can see from this next screenshot.
Here in my prelim task i provided no information to the audience in who edited,filmed and who provided the music.
Overall in both tasks i have learnt on the editing side - how to trim footage to make it fit perfectly, how to dim lighting and music and specific points in the movie and use of different effects such as making titles follow certain areas on the screen.
I also now have a wider knowledge of different programmes i can use to evaluate tasks to add effect other than just a powerpoint. Prezi and slideshare have been useful sites to make my evaluation stage look more effective for an audience.
As you can see the title is not in line and also the font isn't appropriate for our genre.
The hardest part of this task was overcoming the editing stage, this was new programme which we hadn't used before. We had to learn to put different effects in and also cut out any parts of the film which looked poor such as bad filming or shots of black. I thought our effort overall was average as we had many parts which didn't work.
The music in my video was too loud and blocked out the talking of the actors in the first part. Fading into different shots as well was repetitive and nothing different was used. The ending was poor as when i took the shot i didn't cut the shot so Sophie continued to walk which looked unrealistic.
As you can see in this screenshot we have added production companies for our opening where in the prelim task we just went straight into the first shot.
Overall in both tasks i have learnt on the editing side - how to trim footage to make it fit perfectly, how to dim lighting and music and specific points in the movie and use of different effects such as making titles follow certain areas on the screen.
I also now have a wider knowledge of different programmes i can use to evaluate tasks to add effect other than just a powerpoint. Prezi and slideshare have been useful sites to make my evaluation stage look more effective for an audience.
Question 4
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Here is my prezi presentation on the evaluation of my film opening and other areas.
I completed question 4
Here is my prezi presentation on the evaluation of my film opening and other areas.
I completed question 4
Film front cover
Here i made a rough draft of what i would like the film's front cover to look like.
Our Interview
Here i have taken a screenshot of us completing our interview with me as Josiah. I am talking about my experience being "Locked up" and my feeling towards it:
Shooting schedule
Below i have displayed when and where we will be filming all of our shots for the opening of our film. Description of each shot is also shown:
Some dates still need to be added
Some dates still need to be added
Representation
Who?
In our film opening a young boy is being presented as a victim of a kidnapping. Members of his family also have their emotions shown in reference to the young boy who was kidnapped and how they feel about this. We have shown this through an interview with his mother (short clip) as she explains what her thoughts and feelings were while her son was missing. The interview showed the audience how devastated she was and how she was affected. The neighbour was also presented to be shocked by this event as his barely knew the child, this reveals how big of an impact this event was to everyone involved.
What?
A horrible crime is being shown in our film opening, one that devastates families and anyone involved. The crime highlights to the audience how cruel the people who commit these crimes must be to take a young boy away from his family and friends and block him off from his everyday life. This could show us that as well as cruel, these people may also be lonely as they may of never been shown respect in their life so they feel the only way the conquer this is to take it away from another person.
Where?
Our film is being presented in a average location which would surprise the audience at how something so disturbing could happen in such a normal place. We have filmed in a cabin at the end of a garden to show where our kidnapping took place.
In our film opening a young boy is being presented as a victim of a kidnapping. Members of his family also have their emotions shown in reference to the young boy who was kidnapped and how they feel about this. We have shown this through an interview with his mother (short clip) as she explains what her thoughts and feelings were while her son was missing. The interview showed the audience how devastated she was and how she was affected. The neighbour was also presented to be shocked by this event as his barely knew the child, this reveals how big of an impact this event was to everyone involved.
What?
A horrible crime is being shown in our film opening, one that devastates families and anyone involved. The crime highlights to the audience how cruel the people who commit these crimes must be to take a young boy away from his family and friends and block him off from his everyday life. This could show us that as well as cruel, these people may also be lonely as they may of never been shown respect in their life so they feel the only way the conquer this is to take it away from another person.
Where?
Our film is being presented in a average location which would surprise the audience at how something so disturbing could happen in such a normal place. We have filmed in a cabin at the end of a garden to show where our kidnapping took place.
Blog Reflection
Technology - Have you learned new online programmes for showing off work? Have you tried new premiere effects that you haven't told us about? I have started to use prezi which i have never used before. It is more effective than powerpoint and also looks more interesting to look through.
What mark is it out of 20? I would give my blog around 12 to 13 marks.
Where could you be a little more thorough or a little less complacent? i could have been more thorough when researching the titles i wish to use for my film and looking at more films which have titles that are the same genre or similar plot to our opening.
Is it fun to look through? - My blog is quite intersting but needs a few more pictures to go with the posts to make it better to look at.
Is the learning journey (blaaaghh) evident? - I have used a production diary to show my learning journey on some tasks, this helps identify all the steps along the way to the finished product.
Three targets to improve blog - research or planning (have you thoroughly covered all key media concepts - forms and conventions of your film , audience, institution, representation - I could have spent more time on research of my titles of the film, this would have given the group a better idea of what titles are appropriate for our genre.
What mark is it out of 20? I would give my blog around 12 to 13 marks.
Where could you be a little more thorough or a little less complacent? i could have been more thorough when researching the titles i wish to use for my film and looking at more films which have titles that are the same genre or similar plot to our opening.
Is it fun to look through? - My blog is quite intersting but needs a few more pictures to go with the posts to make it better to look at.
Is the learning journey (blaaaghh) evident? - I have used a production diary to show my learning journey on some tasks, this helps identify all the steps along the way to the finished product.
Three targets to improve blog - research or planning (have you thoroughly covered all key media concepts - forms and conventions of your film , audience, institution, representation - I could have spent more time on research of my titles of the film, this would have given the group a better idea of what titles are appropriate for our genre.
Synopsis Planning
Our film is based on a kidnapping of a young boy for many years.
Location
Location
- We our planning to film in a cabin at the back of a garden, the house belongs to the man who kidnapped the young boy.
- We also need a small room to carry out our interview with the boy and the neighbour.
- We need another house to hold another interview with the victims mother.
Props
- For our cabin scene we need plenty of food cans, newspaper and general waste.
- Another main prop was the clothing of Josiah, this required a unclear t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms.
Actors
This film requires Me as Josiah who has been kidnapped
Harrison is being required to play the kidnappers neighbour who initially finds Josiah and reports the incident.
Sophie is required to be the interviewer of Harrison.
New Titles
Our group decided to change our opening titles. We based our new titles on the film "The Imposter" where we found many ideas about our film opening.
To show key information about the missing of our character Josiah we have chose to use titles as shown :
We have used these a few titles to create more effect.
To show key information about the missing of our character Josiah we have chose to use titles as shown :
We have used these a few titles to create more effect.
Audience research
Target Audience
Our target audience is similar to "The Imposter". It is aimed mainly at a interlectual adult crowd.
The class it would be aimed at is middle Class, this is because they would have an educational background so they will undertsand the issues with kidnapping and other issues presented in our film opening.
It would also be mainly targeted at adults who have an interest in mystery as our opening provides many of these such as a missing child.
They would also have an interest of crime as our opening involves the crime of kidnapping.
Our target audience is similar to "The Imposter". It is aimed mainly at a interlectual adult crowd.
The class it would be aimed at is middle Class, this is because they would have an educational background so they will undertsand the issues with kidnapping and other issues presented in our film opening.
It would also be mainly targeted at adults who have an interest in mystery as our opening provides many of these such as a missing child.
They would also have an interest of crime as our opening involves the crime of kidnapping.
Institution
Film production companies - Revolver Entertainment + ABP productions
Revolver Entertainment - This company varies between genres: Horror, Sci-fi, Thriller and Documentary.
The documentary we are basing our film on is from Revolver entertainment - "The Imposter"
Other companies that helped produce/distribute were: Film4 productions, A&E IndieFilms.
Revolver Entertainment - This company varies between genres: Horror, Sci-fi, Thriller and Documentary.
The documentary we are basing our film on is from Revolver entertainment - "The Imposter"
Other companies that helped produce/distribute were: Film4 productions, A&E IndieFilms.
Music Used
The song we used was by London Grammar called "Wasting my young years".
We used this as it relates to our story as our main character had many of his young years "wasted" when he was kidnapped.
We used this as it relates to our story as our main character had many of his young years "wasted" when he was kidnapped.
Storyboard
Evidence of filming our storyboard :
Feedback
I'm The main positive comments on our work was:
- The music choice was good.
- Good acting
- Few good transitions
Analysis
Positive
- Good acting
- Some good, interesting camera shots
Improvements
In our first interview we had to make many improvements.
Our actors didn't stay in character throughout the interview. They laughed many times and also took too long of pauses between questions
We also didn't have a clear script so characters were unsure of what they had to say.
We made a change in our film to shoot a recreation of when our kidnapped boy (Josiah) was found. We chose to do this so it was clearer to the audience of how he was living and how hard this time must of been for him.
We have made many improvements with the editing such as more information on the key details of the kidnapping. We have included more interviews with Josiah's family and also his sports coach to show how devastating this was for them.
We changed our song choice to "Wasting my young years" - we made this decision as the song title relates more to our film as Josiah lost many of his younger years during the kidnapping so this time was effectively "wasted".
Our actors didn't stay in character throughout the interview. They laughed many times and also took too long of pauses between questions
We also didn't have a clear script so characters were unsure of what they had to say.
We made a change in our film to shoot a recreation of when our kidnapped boy (Josiah) was found. We chose to do this so it was clearer to the audience of how he was living and how hard this time must of been for him.
We have made many improvements with the editing such as more information on the key details of the kidnapping. We have included more interviews with Josiah's family and also his sports coach to show how devastating this was for them.
We changed our song choice to "Wasting my young years" - we made this decision as the song title relates more to our film as Josiah lost many of his younger years during the kidnapping so this time was effectively "wasted".
Characters + Roles
Me (James)
I am playing the young boy who was Kidnapped for many years who is found by the neighbour. I am found in a dark cabin at the end of a garden. The living conditions i had were very poor i also provided the shooting schedule. I have done research on ideas of titles and what production companies would be appropriate for our genre.
Harrison
He is playing the neighbour who originally finds Josiah in the cabin. Harrison also has a interview asking him a few questions about what happened when he found him and what his reaction to this was. Harrison has provided our location to film which involved him taking location shots.
Aaron
Aaron has the job of editing the film on premiere adding all titles and effects. Aaron also created our newspaper article about the character who was kidnapped.
Sophie
Sophie wrote out all the storyboard including all the shots, camera techniques and length of shot. Sophie also made improvements to the editing by changing effects and also making our titles more effective by displaying more information on how, when and for how long Josiah was kidnapped which gives our audience a better idea of what is happening in the opening and also makes it clearer what genre we are trying to portray.
I am playing the young boy who was Kidnapped for many years who is found by the neighbour. I am found in a dark cabin at the end of a garden. The living conditions i had were very poor i also provided the shooting schedule. I have done research on ideas of titles and what production companies would be appropriate for our genre.
Harrison
He is playing the neighbour who originally finds Josiah in the cabin. Harrison also has a interview asking him a few questions about what happened when he found him and what his reaction to this was. Harrison has provided our location to film which involved him taking location shots.
Aaron
Aaron has the job of editing the film on premiere adding all titles and effects. Aaron also created our newspaper article about the character who was kidnapped.
Sophie
Sophie wrote out all the storyboard including all the shots, camera techniques and length of shot. Sophie also made improvements to the editing by changing effects and also making our titles more effective by displaying more information on how, when and for how long Josiah was kidnapped which gives our audience a better idea of what is happening in the opening and also makes it clearer what genre we are trying to portray.
Production Diary
Production Diary Summary
Day 1) We all put ideas together such as things like: genre, scenes, location.
Day 2) We then presented our film ideas to the class and gained feedback in what we should improve on.
Day 3) Whern we got our feedback we made the imporvements that we needed to and added it onto our plot.
Day 4) Brooksy then asked us to provide evidence of planning our storyboard.
Day 5) Aaron made a Newspaper article while i filled out the shooting schedule.
Day 6) We then began to put storyboard and ideas we had on our blogs.
Day 7) We then finished our written storyboard with things included such as : shot length, camera shot and scene description.
Day 8) I then recorded a voiceover for our storyboard explaining the details about the shot.
Day 9) We will soon be on to editing as we filmed most scenes the previous weekend. I have blogged my progress and shown some key shots that were taken over the weekend.
Day 10) Today me, Harrison, Aaron and Sophie have continued filming our interviewing at school in the drama studio. We have learnt about lighting and camera angles during this process and we are now starting to edit our film as our first draft.
Day 11) - We now filmed the storyboard while adding a voiceover and have also filmed the last scenes of the opening. Aaron has continued to edit our film with help from me and Harrison.
Day 12) - Today we received feedback on our drafts and also gave feedback to other groups film drafts.
Day 13) - We made changes due to our feedback while Sophie began to edit.
Day 1) We all put ideas together such as things like: genre, scenes, location.
Day 2) We then presented our film ideas to the class and gained feedback in what we should improve on.
Day 3) Whern we got our feedback we made the imporvements that we needed to and added it onto our plot.
Day 4) Brooksy then asked us to provide evidence of planning our storyboard.
Day 5) Aaron made a Newspaper article while i filled out the shooting schedule.
Day 6) We then began to put storyboard and ideas we had on our blogs.
Day 7) We then finished our written storyboard with things included such as : shot length, camera shot and scene description.
Day 8) I then recorded a voiceover for our storyboard explaining the details about the shot.
Day 9) We will soon be on to editing as we filmed most scenes the previous weekend. I have blogged my progress and shown some key shots that were taken over the weekend.
Day 10) Today me, Harrison, Aaron and Sophie have continued filming our interviewing at school in the drama studio. We have learnt about lighting and camera angles during this process and we are now starting to edit our film as our first draft.
Day 11) - We now filmed the storyboard while adding a voiceover and have also filmed the last scenes of the opening. Aaron has continued to edit our film with help from me and Harrison.
Day 12) - Today we received feedback on our drafts and also gave feedback to other groups film drafts.
Day 13) - We made changes due to our feedback while Sophie began to edit.
Location
Our location was Harrison's cabin. We chose this for our location as this was unique and empty so this helped improved how realastic the surroundings were.
Newspaper Article
In our opening we decided to display a newspaper article on the front page to give key details and what happened, when etc.
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Title ideas
As our film is a documentary we have looked at other documentaries and took ideas from their titles.
As we start we will give key information on a black background such as: where the victim was captured, how long they was held for etc.
As we show our first scene we will introduce the job titles on screen with a clip of the victim before being kidnapped.
As we start we will give key information on a black background such as: where the victim was captured, how long they was held for etc.
As we show our first scene we will introduce the job titles on screen with a clip of the victim before being kidnapped.
Richard Morrison Interview
Richard Morrison gives plenty of great advice throughout this interview.
One thing he says that i find interesting is :
One thing he says that i find interesting is :
- If you start off with a drawn storyboard anyone knows you can rub bits out, this is helpful as he is saying any ideas you don't agree with you can just change them and improve on them. Richard says you can add a few bits so your always building on the idea.
- Richard outlines that when you first introduce an idea to a producer don't over complicate any ideas. Richard also says "simple is good". If you keep things simple it can create more effect instead of spending lots of time on a complicated idea. The most simple can be the most effective as the first Alien film was said to be sold in 3 words "Jaws in space".
- An important step for Richard was to develop the idea as far as you can until you can't think of anything else. Then he says once you have done this then further improve the idea with Technology.
Film pitch ideas
Some of the documentaries that have inspired me on our idea is the Ross Kemp extreme world episodes.
One that links with ours is the episode in Haiti as many people are living in poor living conditions and have for some time. Slowly things are improving in this episode but money that was expected has not arrived so people of Haiti are very angry. The natural disaster (earthquake) has caused all the destruction to the small country and a massive rebuilding process needs to begin as much diseases is being spread around the tents where people are staying
Our film pitch is looking at a man who hasn't had a home for many years which is where the link is.
We have also been interested in other kidnapping and missing children cases. One that caught our eye was the newspaper article on Jaycee Dugard who was kidnapped at the age of 11 in the year 1991 (similar age in our film idea). This case is similar to ours as the victim has very little contact with the outside world. They also feel very lonely and scared while being help captive. Both victims are kept in a similar environment as they both live at the back of the Captors garden. Jaycee's stepfather witnessed the kidnapping and informed local authorities straight away. A major search was carried out for Jaycee with dogs and aircrafts, this proved pointless as Jaycee was living 170 miles away in California. She was held for 18 years.
We have looked to take the idea of showing clips of our victim as a child before the kidnapping to outline how their life dramatically changes.
We have also been interested in other kidnapping and missing children cases. One that caught our eye was the newspaper article on Jaycee Dugard who was kidnapped at the age of 11 in the year 1991 (similar age in our film idea). This case is similar to ours as the victim has very little contact with the outside world. They also feel very lonely and scared while being help captive. Both victims are kept in a similar environment as they both live at the back of the Captors garden. Jaycee's stepfather witnessed the kidnapping and informed local authorities straight away. A major search was carried out for Jaycee with dogs and aircrafts, this proved pointless as Jaycee was living 170 miles away in California. She was held for 18 years.
We have looked to take the idea of showing clips of our victim as a child before the kidnapping to outline how their life dramatically changes.
Marking Film openings
Today miss made us look for our own individual Media Scene openings and give them a mark.
I would mark this 36 out of 60 - This clip was called "Pulled from the rough".
The next film i marked was called "Growing Pains" i gave this 43 marks.
I would mark this 36 out of 60 - This clip was called "Pulled from the rough".
- The music is used well to match the set appropriately
- The actors stayed in character well
- i liked the use of the camera, many different shots which was also controlled well such as long shots and close up.
- I found the genre clear
- I think more effects could have been used to enhance the performance.
- The tittles were used incorrectly as the actors names and director were mentioned right at the end of the clip.
The next film i marked was called "Growing Pains" i gave this 43 marks.
- The titles were used correctly.
- The sound used was fairly good in matching to the task.
- Interesting shots were used - Shooting while on the skateboard e.g.
- Sound was used well with the images - it matched the genre
- The genre was made clear - teenagers, streets.
- The scene was fairly boring, not much happened.
- The location could have been more interesting.
Prezi task
In this task we made a presentation for our opening film clips. We used prezi for this and included things such as characters, plot, genre and script.
1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you? - I was working with Sophie and Deborah. We managed the task by who we thought was the best actors would have the main parts in the clip.
2) How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take in to account? - We planned our sequence by thinking of other Urban teen drama's we knew. We tried to relate our sequence to themes in the well known Urban Teen drama's.
3) What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it? - We used a camera to film our sequence, Adobe premiere to edit the movie such as sound, camera etc.
4) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing? We had to decide first what sort of factors are related to the Urban Teens of this generation when planning. When shooting we had to make sure the area we used was urban.
5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently? What did others say about your production? Our sequence was quite successful. The background music worked well as it highlighted the genre better. To make the sequence better i could have spent more time on the editing so there was less pauses and black screen.
6) What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think? I have learnt that by spending more time on the editing will make the whole sequence more effective. Editing can dramatically outline the genre to the audience.
Prelim Task
In this task we edited and filmed our own film opening. We had the genre of Urban Teen Drama.
High budget vs Low budget
In this task i made a Powerpoint giving different information about a High Budget film and a low budget film such as production company, money made etc.
Juno clip
In this we remade the clip of Juno. We tried to replicate the timings, shots and music.
The filming for our Juno went average. Our storyboard was fairly accurate in relation to the official Juno clip so our filming was pretty much in time as we recorded the seconds for each shot on our storyboard. I had to make crucial changes in the editing such as slowing down some shots and speeding some up so they replicated the official clip. This was a strength as i saved the task through my editing.
The filming for our Juno went average. Our storyboard was fairly accurate in relation to the official Juno clip so our filming was pretty much in time as we recorded the seconds for each shot on our storyboard. I had to make crucial changes in the editing such as slowing down some shots and speeding some up so they replicated the official clip. This was a strength as i saved the task through my editing.
In our group our filming let us down a bit as some shots were a bit blurry and unrealistic. Our timing was also sometimes inaccurate which made the transitions to some shots a bit slow or quick. The skills i learnt with the camera was the different shot names such as longshot, mid-shot and a tracking shot. With premiere i learnt how to add music into my clip, add effects and adjust the timing of each shot.
Compared to the original mine is fairly good. The things that let my sequence down is things such as the location, costumes and camera work.
In the next production i will spend more time on my editing to make the sequence more realistic. I will also
Compared to the original mine is fairly good. The things that let my sequence down is things such as the location, costumes and camera work.
In the next production i will spend more time on my editing to make the sequence more realistic. I will also
Film Language - Boyz in the hood
Mise En Scene
- Casual Gang member clothing
- Black American actors in their late 20's
- Set in American town at night time with low lighting around the streets
- Actors in the car carrying guns
- Big american cars
- Fancy jewellery being worn by the actors
- Scene starts off harmless until a car of more Black actors pull up next to the starting actors
- Starting actors stop off and begin eating and sharing jokes
Sound
- Offscreen, slow music played in the background.
- Contrapuntal music as the scene is harmless even though the audience can see a murder being planned in the background.
- Music fades away when the car begins to come closer.
- Music completely fades out when the sound of a fully auto gun being fired comes into the frame.
- Audio gain once the killing has taken place, music gets slower and more dramatic.
Camera
- Scene starts with a tracking mid-shot of the actors in the car.
- Mid-shot taken while actors are sitting eating.
- Long-shot of when 3 Black guys pull up in their car
- Long-shot of men running out of frame
- Tracking shot of the drive-by shooting right to left
- Close-up shot of actors face who carried out the murders
Editing
- Slow-motion of gun being fired and bullets penetrating the men.
- Slow-motion of bodies falling to the floor.
Film Language - Terminator 2
In this task we watched 3 opening scenes and applied the 4 categories of Film Language - Mise En Scene, Camera, Editing, Sound.
Terminator 2
Mise En Scene
Sound
Voiceover is used in the opening scene when giving small details about the film. Mysterious music with bursts of fast paced sounds, shows film with plenty of bursts of action. Audio gain used for high action parts. Accents used for Arnold Schwarzenegger, German accent to enthasize he is not from where everyone else is, or even a different species (Robot). Lots of On screen noises are shown in the opening sequence such as objects being destroyed and gunshots. Music clearly highlights that is is action packed creating a "edge of your seat" environment for the audience.
Editing
Fast paced film with editing used to create the Robot features of both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Patrick.Robotic arms and weapons are created to show the Robots.
Camera
Many close-ups used on the robots. Lots of tracking and longshots to make the chase scenes look very realistic. Lots of midshots to show the characters emotions. Midshots used especially on the robots to show their Robotic features.
Terminator 2
Mise En Scene
- Bad boy image - leather jacket, sunglasses, jeans, boots (Arnold S).
- Shotguns, machine guns, robotic weapons.
- Very dark lighting, flashes of fire and electric sparks.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the main hero who was sent with a mission to protect John Connor. Robert Patrick plays T-1000 who is the villian who trys to kill John Connor.
- Big strong image for Arnold
Sound
Voiceover is used in the opening scene when giving small details about the film. Mysterious music with bursts of fast paced sounds, shows film with plenty of bursts of action. Audio gain used for high action parts. Accents used for Arnold Schwarzenegger, German accent to enthasize he is not from where everyone else is, or even a different species (Robot). Lots of On screen noises are shown in the opening sequence such as objects being destroyed and gunshots. Music clearly highlights that is is action packed creating a "edge of your seat" environment for the audience.
Editing
Fast paced film with editing used to create the Robot features of both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Patrick.Robotic arms and weapons are created to show the Robots.
Camera
Many close-ups used on the robots. Lots of tracking and longshots to make the chase scenes look very realistic. Lots of midshots to show the characters emotions. Midshots used especially on the robots to show their Robotic features.
Editing task
On this task Miss showed us how to use premier by giving us a few videos of which we had to edit such as adding music, cutting out the black flashes in the footage. We also added video transactions and audio transactions to make the video more interesting.
Narrative
In this task we watched a film opening scene and had to apply all 4 Narratives such as Symbolic codes, binary opposites, disruptions in the film and typical film characters such as a hero, Villan etc.
Enigma codes in this opening scene are things like:
- Who is trying to kill the magician?
- What part does the old man play?
- What time period was the film set in?
- Does the magician survive?
Symbolic codes:
- Budgie in the cage
- Tophats - Old fashioned/old time period
- Clothing of the audience
- Curtains opening
- Magic wand - Extraordianry
- Suits - important people
- Dark - mysterious/evil
- Electric - Dangerous
- Curtain lifting - Surprise/unknown
Magician plunging into locked water tank - will he escape?
Electric field
Michael Caine flattening the bird cage - does it die?
Film Plot group task
In this task in groups we had to create our own film. We had to include the plot, how it will be marketed and the characters we are using.
Genre picture task
Super hero
In this scene we took the picture on top of a hill to make our characters look more powerful and important. All characters also performed a superhero pose to make it obvious that it was a Superhero genre. The main theme in this photo is Power as we are all showing we are superhero's who are known for having a special power of some sort. We used 4 characters to help replicate a group like the 'Fantastic Four'. To make this photo better we could of used better props to make it clearer to the audience that we are a group of superheroes, rather than a few people wearing wigs performing a pose. The story in this is one of 4 superhero's who all have super powers.
Comedy
In this photo the location is the school playground. As it is sunny the mood is to one of happiness. The main character at the front (James) is trying to pretend he is holding the other 3 characters in his hand. This is stupid as this isn't possible so we did this to help show our genre of 'Comedy'. The theme is quite childish as we were trying to show a comedy of a huge school child who is much larger than the rest of the students therefore he is able to hold 3 students in his hand.
Thriller
In this photo the location is the back field. The mood is quite a dark one and the theme is of death as you can see the character of Georgia is lying dead on the floor. We tried to make it clearer that we're showing death by placing the brick next to Georgia's head. The story could of been the brick fell and therefore caused her death. We could of made this genre photo better by making her clothes dirty as if she died on the floor her clothes wouldn't be spotless. Blood also could of been present to make the scene more realistic.
Semiotics
Semiotics are the study of signs and anything that "stands for something else".Denotation - What we see when we look at an image
Connotation - Other hidden meanings of what we see.
In this cover of the film we can see many different connotations and denotations of this. Firstly the denotations are the image of the sharks finn, the dull/dark weather in the background. We also see the two people with a very worried look on their face awaiting what will happen next. The connotations are the dark weather can show the sea is a very dangerous place and the lightning can show shomething could strike you at any time. The larger shark finn can show sharks are a very imposing creature in the sea and something to be very weary of.
Analysis of Opening sequence
This film is set in a suburban area surrounded by lots of fields. It seems to in the morning of a summer day as you can tell by the sunny skies and greenery surrounding the houses. The houses seem quite old so you can assume that the film is set in a older period. You can also guess this from what the two boys at the end of the clip are wearing and that a record player is repeating the call between the women and the 911 officer.
A voice over is used at the beginning of this clip where a man with a deep voice is giving information about the background of the film. He also gives away that this film is inspired by true events. Slow, mysterious is also being used to not give much away about the scene. Half way through this clip voice over is being used again between a young women and a 911 officer. The women seems to be panicking and calling for help and she claims "There are people here". The police officer looks to calm the women and ask her for details. The women doesn't seem to know her location.
During the beginning of the scene lots of tracking is used when going past the houses. The scene keeps fading in and out to enthasize the mysterious scene as it is not giving much away. Many close up shots are taken towards the end, the items that are being used for the shots gives clues to the audience in what has taken place in this house: Blood covered knife, wedding ring box and the walls that are covered in blood. A close up camera shot is also taken of a car with a hole in the windscreen and two boys looking through it on their bikes.
The editing that has been used is what seems to be a flash forward as part of the opening scene seems to have an element of how the film will end. Fades are used in the opening sequence while the tracking shot is being taken. The title of the Film also flashes on the screen then is faded away a few seconds later.
The connotations in this clip is one of desperation, due to the constant asking of help in the clip. Another is horror and death due to the knife covered in blood showing some murder has taken place. There is also a feeling of mystery due to the mysterious music and also mystery as she doesn't know who is doing these terrible acts to them.
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