Happy days! I have my idea!

So after some thought and many ideas being created and disregarded, I have finally come up with the idea that I am going to produce for my AS coursework!

 

I have decided to do a thriller/horror two minute opening sequence which will feature a young teen girl walking down a dull lit street at night after getting the train back from a friend's house. As she is walking down the street towards her house, she is unaware of the fact that she is being followed by a mysterious man. Just as she turns into the housing estate where she lives, she is grabbed from behind and seen being pulled away, before the screen turns black.

 

These two minutes will feature a range of different shot types, like: over the shoulder; close-up; mid-shot and more, as well as some 'eery' music to help build tension in the scene.

 

The plot/story of the entire film: 

Over the last three months there have been many strange disappearances where people who are seen walking alone at night never make it home. With a shortlist of suspects and time running out as more people go missing from the streets, it is now up to Detective Cooper to find out who is taking these people and why...

 

I'm pretty sure this is what I will end up doing for my coursework, but I may end up changing some parts of it, depending on any ideas I have

 

Preliminary task: Continuity editing

During the production of our preliminary task we were told that we had to demonstrate use and understanding of the following three types of continuity editing.

Match on action: when one shot cuts to another shot, portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. This is used to create the impression of continuity between two shots, as well as also be used to hide any potential continuity issues by drawing the audience's attention towards this technique.

The 180 degree rule: this is a filming guideline that states that shots within a scene must not crossover a 180-degree axis, otherwise it may give the impression that the positions of the actors in the scene has been reversed. 

Shot/reverse shot: this is a continuity editing technique that is commonly used when two or more characters in a scene are having a conversation with one another. Typically there is a shot of a character looking at something or someone (either an over-the-shoulder or point of view shot) and then this is followed by a reverse shot of the same character looking at the person or object.

Preliminary filming task

This is our preliminary exercise:

 "Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule."

I worked in a group with Charlie, Nathan and Poppy to complete this task.

We decided to choose the idea of having a male and female character who have an argument over some 'wine gums' and so this ends in them having a ninja-styled fight. The video will begin with a man who is seen running into a room before sitting down in a seat opposite a women. Some dialogue is exchanged which then sparks an argument between the two characters, leading to the 'battle'.

It was our first real opportunity to use the cameras to film and then the editing software in post-production. Below is our finished product..

Pitching a film idea (practice)

Over the last couple of lessons we were given the task of creating a film idea that we would have to pitch to the rest of the class. The base of our idea came from four pieces of card with different aspects of film on them, e.g. a genre card, character cards and a prop card.

 

The four cards that my group got were:

• A car
• A man called Henry who is 72
• A woman called Lola
• Romantic Comedy

 

We started to create our idea by thinking of the typical aspects of a romantic comedy film and applying them to the cards that we got, seeing what ideas would work well together.

 

The Idea!

 Our idea is that Henry is an old man that has a car crash, resulting in him being admitted to hospital, where he is put under the care of the nurse, Lola. During his time in hospital it is becoming clear that Henry cannot remember much about his family or his past and it is told at this point that he has dementia. When Henry feels like he is well enough to leave the hospital the doctors tell him that he must stay longer and so he decides to leave the hospital with Lola so they can run away together. During their time together it is clear that Lola and Henry are getting closer as they fall in love with each other. However, in a sub-plot, both Henry and Lola's families are seen searching for them to try and find out where they are. Towards the end of the film Henry's health worsens until he is too sick to carry on and he dies. When it comes to his funeral, everyone comes to his funeral to pay their respect and at the end of the film we see Lola talking to another women. At this point the audience finds out that this woman is in fact Henry's actual wife, but because of his dementia he had forgotten about her when he met Lola.

 

For our characters we decided to cast Michael Caine as Henry, Jessica Lange as Lola and Julie Walters as his actual wife (we haven't given her a name yet). We decided to choose these actors because they are very well-known and so people will want to watch this film because they know how good these actors are.

 

The target audience for our film is mainly going to be females, because they are the main audience of rom coms, and it will specifically be aimed at those who are late 30s/middle-aged. This is because our choice of actors and their characters will be recognised mainly by the older demographic. However, to also make this film appeal to younger people, we could use the sub-plot of the two families and cast younger actors that will appeal to the younger audience.

And finally, in the opening two minutes of the film we will see Henry driving along in his car, with the radio playing, looking as if everything is good and normal. Then suddenly we will see Henry's car get hit by another vehicle and then the screen will go black before showing the title sequence.

Textual Analysis of student-made openings

THRILLER (the genre that I have chosen for my own coursework)

Lost Signal - It is not established by the creator what genre this opening sequence is but I can tell that it is clearly a thriller. I know this because of the use of camera shots that make it look like the character we see is being watched by someone, something that is typical of a thriller film, as well as the 'eery' music playing in the background that helps to build tension in the film.

I actually quite like this opening sequence because I think that it clearly states what genre the film is by using it's conventions and it also attracts the audiences attention, because I want to know what happens to the guy now that we found out the man in the house wasn't dead!

Fear - This is another horror/thriller opening sequence that clearly sticks to the conventions on the genre in terms of creating tension and suspense in the opening sequence that will make the audience want to know what happens next. As well as the previous example, this opening sequence also makes use of 'eery'/creepy music to build tension and a shot of sudden movement that is used to make the audience jump.
Although I generally like this opening sequence, in my opinion I do think that some parts are dragged out a bit too long and if they could be shortened slightly then it would make the film better and help keep the tension.



ACTION

End Point - It is not stated by the creator by what genre this opening sequence is and so I am presuming that it is an action film because it is fast-paced and up-beat. Another convention of an action film is to build tension in the opening sequence and to get the audience asking questions about what could happen next, something that is definitely happening with this opening sequence! I'm curious to find out what the boy had or who he was and why he was running from the guy in suit? So for this reason, I would say that this is a good opening sequence.

Romance

In a romance film it is stereotypical for their to be a male 'hero' in a 'boy meets girl' style scenario. Throughout the film it is suggested that the boy and girl would/should get together but for some reason they end up separating and going their different ways. However, in the end of the film they are reunited and there is a traditional 'happy ever after'. Most romance films are aimed at a female demographic (the target audience), although other elements from other genres can be mixed in with romance to widen the target audience. For example, a common genre mix is romantic comedies.

 

 

An example of a romance film is 'The Fault In Our Stars' which is a film about the relationship between two extraordinary teenagers, Gus (Ansel Elgort) and Hazel (Shailene Woodley), who meet at a cancer support group.

     

Coursework idea!

So I've come up with an idea for my AS coursework, which is to create a two minute opening sequence of a film from a genre of my choice! 

At first I had no idea what to do, but after talking to some friends and joining ideas from previous tasks, I have come up with this idea for a comedy:

We see a shot of a young man or woman lying in bed and it is clear that they have been out partying the night before. As they wake up they appear confused about the night before, trying to remember what happened. They get out of bed, put on their dressing gown and head for the bedroom door to go downstairs. Once they are downstairs, they look around to see a dozen or so people in their house dressed in animal costumes doing normal everyday activities, e.g. ironing clothes, watching TV, making a cup of tea, reading the newspaper, etc. After showing a look of shock and confusion on the character's face, the film then changes to a flashback of the party from last night.

 

This is just an idea so I don't know yet if I'm actually going to do this or not... but I quite like it and think that it would be a fun challenge to produce

Drama

A drama usually portrays realistic and believable characters as well as realistic settings and stories. Most dramas aim to move the audience in an emotional way as it easy for the audience to empathize with and sympathize with these believably realistic characters. At the centre of a drama plot there is always some form of conflict.

Textual analysis of 'End of Watch' (2012)

'End of Watch' is a documentary-style film that follows the daily lives of two young police officers in LA, played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.

The film starts with the recording from a police car as it pursues a criminal's car through alleyways and streets in urban LA. Whilst the recording is playing we hear the voice of man who we can presume is one of the main characters and he is talking about loyalty and trust in the police force, as well as talking about the Miranda Rights. After the man has finished talking some loud, up-beat music plays and the dialogue on the recording is boosted so we can hear two men talking.

I think that this is a good opening sequence because it is different (I certainly haven't seen this done before, especially in a drama) and it catches the audiences attention. It draws the audience in because we want to know why they are chasing another car as well as wanting to listen to what is being said through the recording of the man talking. The use of the loud, fast-paced music helps to focus the audiences attention on what is happening in the scene as well as helping to build tension towards what might happen next.

Documentary

A documentary is known for being very factual and scientific. Their only real purpose is to give an audience information on a particular topic. Some typical features of documentaries are: interviews with specialists; 'real' footage of events; archive photographs and an authoritative narrative.

Textual analysis of 'Africa with David Attenborough' (2014)

In this opening sequence we are given a lot of information visually from the animals that we can see, as well as listening to David Attenborough himself talking about Africa and what this particular documentary (or series of documentaries) is/are going to be about. The dialogue is very factual and because it is David Attenborough we can trust what he is saying as he is well-known for making brilliant documentaries about different animals and environments. The music that is used in the sequence has a strong beat, which helps to draw the audiences attention to what is being shown in the video, although it is not too loud so to block out Attenborough's narration.

I think that this is an effective opening sequence as it clearly states to the audience what the documentary is going to be about and what can be expected from the film.

Gotham

One of my favourite programmes at the minute has got to be the new Gotham. It follows the lives of the characters from the original Batman films, in a Gotham City were Batman himself has not yet been 'created'.

The series starts with the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, and as it is only five or six episodes in not much has happened on finding the culprit.

However, in the episodes so far we have also been introduced to the characters of Alfred Pennyworth, James Gordon, the Penguin and the two gang leaders of Gotham: Carmine Falcone and Don Maroni.

I really like the story-lines and ideas that have been created for this programme because they're always exciting and keeping me wanting to watch more! The actors are great at portraying their characters perfectly and they just make he programme even better. In my opinion I would definitely, 100% recommend this programme to any Batman fan because it is simply the best and you won't be disappointed!

Big Fish (2003)

Recently we watched the film 'Big Fish', which is about a boy (Edward Bloom) who is trying to find out about his dying father through the stories that he told when they were younger.

An interesting factor about this film is that we, as the audience, get to follow the lives of  the young and old Edward as the narrative is constantly changing between the two stages of his life. I think that this is a pretty cool and unique way of telling the audience about a character's life and experiences; something that I may consider for my A2 coursework!

This film follows the Todorov narrative theory because at the start of the film there is an equilibrium because everything is normal and the same. Then there is a disequilibrium when Edward leaves his hometown to experience the big city and to make something of himself. After this there is a new equilibrium in the time that he is working for the circus and when he finally finds his wife, Sandra. Finally the film goes back to a disequilibrium when the modern day Edward's health becomes worse.

Although it isn't something that I would personally pick to watch myself, I think that this is a good film and I would recommend it

Comedy

A typical comedy film usually features a basic plot that is designed to make people laugh, as well as also having some kind of underlying message, i.e. friendship. Normally there is some light-hearted, up-beat music playing in the background that helps to emphasise certain situations or to reassure the audience that everything is okay. There are also some stereotypical character types that appear in comedy films. There are: the 'idiots' - the ones that are silly and usually very accident prone; the smart people who are socially awkward and the regular people who can sometimes be sarcastic and accidents happen around them, although they themselves may not be accident prone.

Within the comedy genre there are different themes that can be applied to films. Some of these themes are: slapstick - humour that involves exaggerated physical actions; screwball - humour which is unconventional and behaves in unexpected ways; black or dark comedy - humour that makes light of a serious subject matter and romantic comedy - a film that deals with romance in a light-hearted or comical manner.
 

 

Textual analysis of 'Ride Along' (2014)

 

'Ride Along' is about a security guard called Ben, who is played by Kevin Hart, that must prove himself worthy to his girlfriend's police officer brother James, played by Ice Cube, before asking her to marry him.

 

The film starts in a room where we see two men sitting at a table talking about a deal. The room is dark and mysterious and around the edges of the room there are men that appear to be gang members or 'body guards' to one of the men sitting at the table. After the deal is made the scene cuts to the two men walking separately through a dark, shadowy market place, shortly before there is a fast-paced gun fight with loud music.
This opening sequence is good because it tells the audience what the film is mostly about; the deal between the two men. It also makes the audience want to know what this deal is about and how it turns out. As well as this, the gun fight also intrigues the audience because we want to know why everything has suddenly changed when in the previous scene things were calm and controlled. Although we can get a sense of what the film is going to be about, not much information is given away from this opening sequence and so the audience are left to question what could happen next.
I think that this opening sequence is good because it grips the audience and makes them want to know more about this deal.

An idea for my own comedy opening sequence - We see a shot of a young man or woman lying in bed and it is clear that they have been out partying the night before. As they wake up they appear confused about the night before, trying to remember what happened. They get out of bed, put on their dressing gown and head for the bedroom door to go downstairs. Once they are downstairs, they look around to see a dozen or so people in their house dressed in animal costumes doing normal everyday activities, e.g. ironing clothes, watching TV, making a cup of tea, reading the newspaper, etc. After showing a look of shock and confusion on the character's face, the film then changes to a flashback of  the party from last night.

Character Research

Character is a very important aspect of film, TV, books etc.; as it can help to tie the story together and help the audience to understand the plot/narrative better. A great character can make a film more memorable as people will remember the iconic character and their unique personality.

Below are 3 characters, that without them, I think the films that they come from would not be anywhere near as successful as they are with them:

Hermione Granger

Hermione Granger is a British teenage witch in the Harry Potter films and is played by Emma Watson. Hermione is an intelligent and brave character who is willing to do almost anything to protect those that she loves. Throughout the entire series she has blossomed as a character, getting smarter and surprisingly more rebellious from one film to the next. She is strong-minded and brave enough to stand up for what she believes in, whether this means disagreeing with others or sometimes breaking the rules.

I think that she is an important character in the series as she supports other characters, as well as being a good role model to the female audience and something that other teen girls can relate to.

The Joker

The Joker is an American villain in the Batman films and in this video he is played by Heath Ledger. He is a violent psychopath that chooses to kill innocent people for his own entertainment. He is of average height and build and is easily recognised by his terrifying clown make-up and bright green hair. He could be considered to be quite a lonely character as the audience is never told about his family or past and we always see him by himself in the films. It could be said that Batman is Joker's only 'friend' in the sense that the Joker needs Batman to keep him mischievous and depriving Gotham City from its joy and happiness. So, without Batman keeping things in Gotham in order, I don't think the Joker would be around to mess things up with his elaborate plans.

Overall I think that the Joker is a great asset to the Batman films and Heath Ledger's portrayal of him makes the character even more amazing and enjoyable to watch.

Ace Ventura

Ace Ventura is an American private detective, portrayed by Jim Carrey, from the hit 90's films 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective' and 'Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'. He is a tall, slim man with a great sense of humour and mischievous personality. He has a big passion for animals and he seeks to protect them. He is well known for his crazy antics and hilarious nature and can always make light of a serious situation. 

I think that Ace is a fantastic and memorable character that never fails to make me laugh.

Horror

Genre is the style or category in which different types of media, be it music, films or books, can be grouped. Some popular genres are:

• Horror
• Documentary
• Comedy
• Drama
• Romance

A typical horror film usually features a group of teenagers or a family with young children that either become involved in the murderous games of a psychopathic serial killer or they are terrorised by a supernatural presence. Horror films are usually set in abandoned or isolated locations that can be known for having a bad past. For example: a warehouse; a forest or an abandoned house are stereotypical settings for a conventional horror films.
 

 

Textual analysis of 'The Woman in Black' (2012)

'The Woman in Black' stars Daniel Radcliffe and is about the ghost of a woman who seeks revenge for the death of her son by possessing young children to kill themselves in horrific circumstances.

 

In the opening sequence we see three young girls playing with their china dolls and cutlery set, moments before they become possessed and jump out of the bedroom window.

   This is opening sequence is good at establishing setting because we can tell by the costume of the characters that the film is not modern day, as in fact it is set in the early 1910s. There also isn't any dialogue in this opening sequence, well not until after the children have jumped out the window and we hear a woman screaming and shouting "my babies". However, there is some music that is playing but it is fairly quiet and slow, which builds tension in the scene. During the sequence we see the three girls put down their toys and stare beyond the camera, at what we can only presume is the woman in black. Also at the very end of these first two minutes we are shown the woman in black, via an over-the-shoulder shot from behind her, where it appears that she is watching the girls as she hypnotizes them.

I think that this is a very effective horror opening sequence as it draws in the attention of the audience and makes us want to know who this woman figure is that is in the room with the girls. We also want to know why three seemingly normal children suddenly decided to jump out of their window.

 

An idea for my own horror opening sequence - A girl is walking alone down an empty street at night and in the background we can see that someone is following her. The street is not completely dark as there are some street lights, although there are some areas that are dark and shadowy. Whilst she is walking there is 'creepy' music playing but it is not too loud, so not to distract the audience from what is going on in the scene. As the girl walks up the steps to her house, the man that we saw following her comes up behind her and puts a cloth over her head, before pulling her away from the house.

Evaluation of the day of filming

The day of filming went well and we got all of it filmed, plus extra footage that may or may not be used in our final video.

As filming at night was not convenient for our actors, it had to be done early in the morning so that it was still dark-ish outside (making it seem like night-time). This meant that as we were filming the sun was rising and the street lamps were turning off as the sky got brighter so some of our footage is in different light compared to others. However, we will fix this lighting issue using a filter on some of the footage to make them look the same.

Another small issue with the filming is that there was some traffic noise in the background, although it wasn't too loud. But if needs be then we can remove this sound when we are editing the footage.

Also, the original plan for our film was that Johnny would run into Charlie's grandparents flower shop, however the shop had recently had a delivery and so there were a lot of boxes that would potentially be in the way. We soon came up with the idea that instead of running into the shop to flee from the hoover, Johnny would instead jump  into a bin in an alleyway; which I thought was a better idea as it made the film funnier.

 



 

Apart from these few minor problems, we got everything that was needed for our film opening and it was actually quite a fun experience.

 

 

Creating an ident



In class today we were playing around and getting to know a piece of software called Adobe After Effects. This is a piece of editing software that we will be using to edit our own films and other pieces needed for our coursework.

 

At first it was quite complicated to understand because there are many different buttons that do lots of different things. However, once we were told what areas of the software we needed to focus on it became much easier to understand, and so I was able to create the ident below that I could use in my film-making.