Evaluation Q7

For our preliminary task we had to create a short film including an match on action, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule. Even though i worked with the same group i believe we have improved greatly.
In our preliminary task i feel we where quicker with the editing since it was more straight forward and simple. But i don't feel our editing was as persice as it is in our final task. Both films are of a similar genre making the contrast in quality.
The first thing you notice between the two is the fact that we used a HD Camera in our final opening. This makes the image alot clearer and makes the film more professional.

Preliminary.

Final Opening.

There is a clear difference in the quality of the pictures. This means the audience would enjoy watching the clip more and make the audience keep focus. When a film is of a bad quality the audience gets fed up and distracted from the film meaning we wouldn't get a good reaction in cinemas.

The the first section of both clips is a tracking shot. The tracking shot of our final task was so much smoother then the preliminary task. This is due to the fact we have have alot more understanding as to how a camera works and how we can make a shot effective.

Preliminary

Final Opening

By this being smoother the film will be better for the audience to view and like before will mean they would keep more focus.

In our final task we thought about props alot more. This meant our film was more realistic. We also thought about connotations in our final piece, e.g. the red cloth to connote danger. Where as in our Preliminary task we just used that we had on us at the time.

Preliminary

Final Opening

In our preliminary task we spent alot of time on make up and costume but for only 2 characters. I feel we got to sidetracked by this and that took the most focus. Even though it was good i feel the film was consistent. Where our final opening was all appropriate to the film and genre and was consistent through out.

Preliminary

Overall the editing of our Final Opening was alot smoother and relevant. We had a better understanding of the 180 degree rule and stuck to that alot better with our filming. Also on the day of filming we filmed all shots in the right order to make editing alot simpler. We learned to do this because we didn't film our preliminary task in the right order so we had a hard job when it came to editing.
We had it easy for our preliminary because we used our selves as actors but this meant it was harder to make the camera work even. So for our Final opening we used different actors so we learnt how to manage actors and over come the problems which where caused by them.
I think our preliminary task was a really good thing to do because it gave us a basic understanding of filming and editing. So we had something to build on and learn from.



Evaluation Q6

The use of the HD camara was essential to our film because it meant we could film to a decent quality. The main problems we faced with the camara was the fact it reacted differently with different lights which meant that some of our shots dont match making it discontionous. We also has a problem with the auto focus, when we did a panning shot the camara couldnt keep up with our movement.
We used a tripod to help film. We had the problem that the tripod was hard to move around and get into the right position for our shots. Alot of the time we ended up shoting handheld.













We used Imovie to edit our film. We chose to use this because we used it for our prelimenary task and felt we were more comfutable with this software. We had the problem that we couldnt split our audio clip of our music. We worked round this by shifting it to audasity and spliting it in there. This took a long time but we got our desired effect in the end.
We also had the problem that not all our clips had the same lighting. We overcome this by adding filters and adjusting with the lighting setting. This also took along time to make it blanced but in the end our opening is now alot more continuous.

We used blogger to post all of our course work. I found it was really hard to get used to but once i got the hang of it i found it really user friendly. The main problem i faced was ordering my posts so that pictures and videos where in the right places. It was also hard because the internet is unrealiable and sometimes cuts out making it hard to post.


We used youtube to get all of our videos onto our blog. This was really useful since embedding is really simple and easy the only fustration was that not all desired videos are on youtube and not all are able to be embeded. This ment we had to spend alot of time searching through youtube to find our desired video.

Evalutaion Q5

Evaluation Q4

Our target audience is ages 15+. The sterotypical audience would be alternative/gothic/emo teenagers. These people would have interests in rock/heavy metal music. This is due to the fact that alot of rock/heavy metal music has alot of refrence to demons and devils which is a direct link to our plot.
They would shop on websites such as Hell Bunny and grindstore, they would also shop in places such as Blue Bannana.
They would watch programs such as: Supernatural, True Blood, Teen Wolf, Vampire Diarys and smallville. These shows all have direct links to supernatural beings such as Vampires, Werewolfs and Spirts.
They would watch film genres such as: Horror, Thrillers and various sub genres such as Phycoloical thrillers. This means they are used to disterbing content which could be seen in our film. Also if they are already used to seeing this content they are less liking to be effected by the hyperdermic needle thoery.

These people would watch our film because it holds the dark and sinister plot they would be interested in. Also our main male character, who we celebraty cased as Ville Valo lead singer of HIM, would be the type of person the girls would find interesting and attractive.

Evaluation Q3

Our film is a supernatural thriller which i would consider as niche. The production and filming of our film was very independent including the shots we used this means that the audience would be niche due to the fact we wouldn't have the budget to produce the type of film a mainstream audience would be after.
Our product would most likely be distributed by a independent company due to the fact we would have a low budget and haven't used any well known or Hollywood actors. An example of the distribution company would be either Film 4 or Studio Canal since they are low budget companies and we would be more likely to be able to afford to work with them.
We would have to think about things like product placement in our film to try and boost our budget. This would also help with advertising our film meaning we would have to spend less on marketing.
We would most likely use independent cinemas to exhibit our film because it would be cheaper. We would have to mostly distribute our film via 35mm because it has less chance of pirating and due to low budgets we wouldn't be able to afford our film being pirated. Also we wouldn't be able to afford the security that comes with getting our digital film to cinemas. We would most likely put our film in a few mainstream cinemas such as Odeon, who have a large steady audience, to try and get our film out to a more mainstream audience. But we would only afford a couple.
If we grossed enough in the cinema we would then distribute our film via itunes, Apple TV and Netflixs as this is cheaper then producing a DVD. But there are also high risks as to pirating which could cause big problems for us since we are independent.
The merchandise for our film would have to be minimal and just be promotional posters. This is due to a low budget. If the film was to have a big opening weekend and gross high enough in the box office we would be able to expand, but at the start we would have to stick with the basics.
Films which have be similarly distributed include Shaun Of The Dead and Perks Of Being A Wallflower.

Evaluation Q2

The main focus of our film is at the social group of teenagers. Our actors are between 16-12 making them seem vulnerable to the situation they are facing. No parent or adult is shown in our opening making the teenagers independent. This connotes their naivety due to the fact they are doing something they no nothing about without any guidance.
They characters are portrayed as easily manipulated and gullible by the control one of the characters holds over the rest of the group. This is shown when the girls argue about doing the Ouija board and are easily persuaded to do so without better judgement. This also connotes there innocents since they don't think of the dangers that could come from their acts.
The costumes our characters wear shows them as innocent and vulnerable. Our characters are seen in bright and girly pyjamas making them seem younger then they are. This helps show there naivety and lack of consideration to the dangers they might face. This also sets a contrast between adults and the characters, due to the fact adults would be shown more mature and organised.
The shots such as the close ups help show there innocents by catching there scared and worried faces. This makes the audience feel more involved. Also the slow pan of there faces helps show there lack of control of the situation showing there age. As adults would fight for the control or wouldn't let it get out of hand in the first place.

Evaluation Q1

The generic conventions of a supernatural thriller is that the storyline involves supernatural beings such as vampires and spirts.
Our opening hints at the genre by showing small generic conventions such as location, props, shots and titles.

Setting
Our opening was set in a house. this is a generic convention for other supernatural films such as 'Amityville Horror 2: The Possession' (1982), 'The Woman in Black' (2010) and 'Insidious'(2010).

Our Location as shown in the opening.

 

 

Costumes and Props

Our costumes are more of a horror generic convention since they are all in nightwear. Horrors and Supernatural thrillers so we all discussed this and thought it would well with our film.

 

 

As you can see all the characters shown are in their nightwear. We chose to use this because it helped show their innocents and naivety to the situation.

The main props we used were candles and a ouija board. These are generic conventions because they are commonly used and shown as a way of contacting spirts and demons. These are shown in a close up birds eye shot to high light the importance they have in our piece.

 

Camera work and Editing.

The start of our film we use a tracking shot of the pictures. This is similar to the tilt down in Insidious. It is similar because it it helping set the scene also as it is slow in pace it adds an early feel to the film.

Tracking shown in our film.



 

Tilt down in Insidious

We also use the effect of close ups to pin out a important prop in our film. This is a generic convention which is also used by The Woman In Black on a close up of a cup and pot. This shot if very effective when it comes to trying to get a message or importance object to your audience.

Close up in our film.

 

Close up in Woman in Black

 



 

Another shot which we share with Woman in Black is a 3 shot. This is commonly used in an supernatural opening because it helps introduce the main characters and their surrounding. The difference between ours and there shot is that we use a high angle. This is because we represent age in a different way. Age is shown to be Innocent and naive in our piece so they need to be shown as belittle to their environment.

 

Our 3 shot.

Woman in Black 3 shot.

The generic convention of editing is to be slow paced. We used this in our film during the beginning and during the candles and ouija board. We broke the convention during the speaking part because we felt it worked better to pick up so speed there to show that the characters aren't really taking time to think.

Font and titles.

Our titles are mostly integrated apart from the title of our film. The letters of Cursed are spelt out by the ouija board and appear as such until the word is spelt then generation appears. This is similar to how one of the titles in insidious moves with the object in the clip. This is used to make the titles seem more like apart of the film as well as giving them a sinister look.

Our Title

 

Insidious Title.

 

 

Our font was picked so that it was a close match to that of the ouija board. We did this so that the film was continuous and the titles linked with the main focus of the film.

 

Storyline

Our film breaks the generic convention of mystery by introducing the ouija board in the first 2 minutes but this is because we would have a twist later on in the film which then adds this mystery.

 

Characters

The fact that we introduce our characters straight away by the opening dialogue goes against a normal supernatural film but this is because we wanted to make our film standout and capture the audience from the beginning.

 

Special Effects 

Since we are an independent company we don't use any special effects because of budget but most supernatural films have quiet a large amount of special effect due to the character types they have to use but we would keep it to a minimum by not making our supernatural characters human like and add effects with makeup.

 









Final Cut

Research into Institution logos

As we have chosen to be an Independent film we needed to do research into other institutions and their logos before we could make ours.
Mainstream companies such as Universal and Warner Bros. have elaborate and animated logos showing they have more money and a bigger audience.
Independent companies tend to have really simple logos due to lack of fundings.

Warp Films

For instance warp films has a colourless 2D logo. This shows there lack of power and money in the film industry. This means that they are more likely to cater for niche audiences.
But the bonus of the lack of colour is that it is universal to any genre meaning they wouldn't have to edit it to suit a certain film therefore saving money.   

Film 4


This is also the logo for an independent institution. This is also 2D but is coloured. But the lack of CGI effects also connotes low budgets and niche audience film. There is no sound suggesting that Film 4 is a small company.

From this i have found that we are going to have to make our logo simple to fit the institution.

Development of logo

We found that with our logo we wanted it to relate the genre and fit with our film. So we tried to make it as sinister as possble.
So we all sat down and drew a rough sketch of how we wanted our logo.
My idea was to have the slowloris' eye in main focus and have our title below. This would be edited in a way which ment that the image is dark and have the eye slightly red.
Others logos where based more around the text with a slowloris figure fitted in. These were good logos but we all felt they didnt suit the genre beause the text was too bubbly and the slowloris its self too cute.
So we decided to go with my logo and everyone added there own input as to how to edit it, before Abbey put the picture together in photoshop.

Analysis of Dorian Grey Opening.

Only the first 2:00.
This film has a really short but effective film opening. The way the titles are intergrated with the painting which is later explained in the film really helps set the narrative.
The slow pace of the titles also helps add to the atmosphere created by the non-diegetic eary music played. I think the use of acid like sizzling incorparted with the orcestrated music really builds a open narrative which helps intrege the viewer. Also how the music is well intergrated with the clip building at the right moments to add to the mystery.
I dont like the bright insterution logos at the begining since they dont fit with the tence begining. I would have edited the logos so that they where darker and more eary so they fit well with the opening.

Chosen Genre Pictures.

Chosen Genre.

We have chosen to do a supernatual thriller.

The generic conventions are:

• Supernatual creatures e.g. Vampires
• Mystery
• Suspence
• Non Happy ending

Most Supernatual thrillers ive seen involve some sort of plot twist which builds some sort of suspence. The openings tend to be slow and atmospheric. Take Amitville Horror 2 for instance which sets the scene of the house. This involves a slow pan around the house with slow music and childeren singing adding a creepy vibe to the house.

Music in Supernautral thrillers is really important. Music adds a certain tone which helps build a atmosphere. The music tends to be slow and simple and tends to be played in the background, never really highlighted, unlike action films for example where the music tends to be more forward. Making scenes feel more tense and thrilling.

The titles tend to be rather simple too. Making them go unnoticed. They also tend to fade in and out slowly giving them a ghostly feel.

Why are we doing a re-make?

We are doing a re-make to help us get a better understanding of how a film opening works and how title sequences fit into the piece.
This will also help us get to know how much you reveal in an opening and how to make it effective.
We chose to do the superbad opening because we thought we would like to do a thriller for our opening so we wanted to try somthing of an oposite genre to make sure we are sure we want to do a thriller.

Difference between independent and mainstream.

A Independent film doesnt have much funding so the quality of the filming, sound, props, special effect and editing isnt to the high standard set by a Mainstream film, due to there large budget. Also independent companies cant afford the same well known actors and genrally only have one mainstream actor to try and draw a larger audience.
Independent films also generally have a niche audience due to the fact they dont have the budget to do large scale marketing like a maintstream would.

Audience Theorys

Audience Theory's can help us understand how the film will be viewed as well as helping us understand the effect our film can be on a given audience.

Hypodermic Needle theory - This is when you inject morals or some kind of message into a passive audiences, an audience who is easily lead. There has been meny cases of younge childeren who have watched a movie and then acted on its violence.


This is the film Child's play. This film is a good example of the Hypodermic Needle theory because of the case where the 2 young boys reenacted the murder on a 1 year old boy.

Uses and Gratification Theory (McQuail)- this is the audiences participation in the film. How the audience connects or gets out of the film. Most people watch a film for entrainment, to relax. But the audience could also connect on a more personal level by connecting to a character or from personal experiences. An audience could also see the film to gain information and be educated. 

The Reception Theory- this is also about the audiences participation but its more about the enigma code used in the plot. The film is encoded by a producer and it is the audiences job to decode and understand the message. This theory questions whether or not eac audience member gets the same experience from the same film.

This will help me in regards to my film opening because it gives me a better understanding of how the  audience will consoom my film and how they could be effected. This will also help with certification because different age groups are effected by movies more then others, this will help reduce the chance of u having a bad effect on society.

Different genres and their generic conventions.

Action

• Chase scene
• guns
• violence
• special effects such us explosions
• male audience
• laura mulvey's Male gaze

Rom-Com

• Female audience
• Relationships
• love triangle
• happy ending
• stereotypes

Horror

• Blood
• Death
• Violence
• Weapons
• Gore
• Teen - Adult

Thriller

• Psychological
• Paranormal
• Supernatural
• Unusual to have a happy ending
• Implications rather then visuals

Comedy

• Slapstick
• Stereotypes
• Crude/ Innuendo

Drama

•  Plot twists
• Older female audience
• Hyperbolic
• Life events
• Period Dramas

Student Films. Solitude

The non diegetic sound and slow editing helps build the tension of the clip and helps set the scene. The Storyline is still unclear which means the veiwer would still want to watch the rest of the film.
The titles dont really fit with the genre and arnt very well intergrated meaning they stand out. Also the white font means it can fade into the background making it hard to read.

Student Films. Fugitive

The non-diegetic sound really helps build the atmosphere and suits the genre. The diegetic sound really helps the montage have a creepy fill. I feel that the negative effect on the pictures was a un-needed effect and black and white would have been more suited.
The fast cut editing really helps build tension and set up the plot but i feel the images that appear reveal to much of the plot giving it more of a trail feel.
The title font is well picked and suits the theme and are well placed to not distort the clip but i feel they go on too long with just a black screen.
To improve i would make the titles more integrated and have less cuts that reveal the plot.

Student Films. PeepHole

The font and colour of the fonts fit the genre of thriller and appear with good speed and are well presented so they don't obscure the scene.
The non-diegetic sound is very effective and really helps set an amposphere to the piece.
The diegetic sound gets lost and i find its not very clear and easy to understand.
Also the due to the fad to black transitions the clip has a more of a trailor feel and to much of the plot is revealed.
To improve i would add smoother transitions and have more of an open plot to engage the viewer.

Amityville Horror 2: The Possession Timeline + Analysis

Timeline
Key.
Title
Shot

0:01-0:08 Metro Goldwyn Mayer Logo
0:10- Establishing shot of house with a 'for sale sign'
0:14- Music
0:21- Dino De Lavenths Presents
0:22- Child singing begins.
0:27- Amityville Horror 2: The Possession
0:34- Starring James Olsen
0:39- Burt Yang
0:44- Rutanya Alda
0:49- Jack Magner
0:55- Andrew Prine
1:00- Diane Franklin
1:05- and Moses Gunn as 'Turner'
1:11- Director of photography- Franco Digiacomo
1:16- Production Director- Pierluigi Basile
1:22- Music by Lalo Schifrin
1:28- Film editor Sam O'steen
1:34- Excaitive producer Bernard Williams 'From the book 'Murder In Amityville'' By Hans Holzer
1:47- Produced by Ira N.Smith and Stephen R.Greenwald
1:54- Directed by Damiano Damiani
This timeline will help me understand how to use camara angles and shots effectively in an opening as well as how to order titles effectivly.
Analysis
Genre
From the opening you cant really tell 100% what the genre would be due to the fact it is only and establishing shot which rotates around the house. But you can tell it will be a horror/thriller due the the supence formed by the slow movement of the camera and the music.
Narrative
You dont get any information about the film other then its somthing to do with this house.
Character
No characters are shown but you get the impression that the characters will be a family or person who lives in the house.
Atmosphere
The sound of the piano really builds a creepy atmosphere which makes you feel on edge. the slow rotation around the house builds a tense atmosphere because it makes you feel like somthing is going to jump out any minute.
Themes
The themes are unknown and kept secret in the opening. Nothing is shown other then the house.
Setting
An old looking house surrounded with bare trees. Due to the fact no lights are no in the house it look abandoned which helps build the creepy tension.
Tiltles
The titles are non intergrated and appear centre screen which makes them standout.
Sound
The sound is a eary piano which makes you feel on edge and it helps build the creepy tension.

Shaun Of The Dead Time Line + Analysis

Key
Transistion
Shot
Title

0:00- Close up of Simon Peggs Face.
0:01- Cut to Black.
0:03- Swipe to a Car Park. Universal Pictures Studio Canal and Working Title Films presents.
0:03-0:07- Tracking on trolly
0:07- Swipe to factory.
0:09-  A WT2 production.
0:09-0:14- Pan of factory.
0:14- Swipe to men in line.
0:16- In association with Big Talk production.
0:16-0-20- Pan
0:20- Swipe to street.
0:20- Shaun of the Dead
0:20-0:30- Pan
0:30- Swipe to kid playing in the road.
0:30-0:38- Pan
0:38- Fade in.
0:46-0:51- Tilt up.
0:51-1:15- 2 Shot to Zoom in to Close up.
This timeline will help me understand how to use camara angles and shots effectively in an opening as well as how to order titles effectivly.

Analysis
Genre
The genre is hard to spot in this clip because it is mostly just setting the scene and showing you the setting of the film.
Narrative
The narrative shows that its about 2 men, because they are the only ones who speak in the opening sequence, who live in a town. It doesnt really give the plot away just set the scene.
Character
Two men who live together.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is very light due to the up beat music and high key lighting.
Themes
The themes arnt really shown in this clip.
Setting
The setting is shown to be in a city/town.
Sound
The sound is light and up beat making atmosphere as such.
Titles
The titles are interagrated to an exstent because they appear and clear with the whipe transition as well as being on the pavement during the main title.

Analysis of My Best Friends Wedding film opening.

Genre

• Rom-Com

Narrative

• Wedding
• Bad Middle, Happy ending
• Comic

Character

• Bride
• Bridesmaid
• 4 Females
• All females want a perfect wedding

Atmosphere

• Cheesy
• 1950's
• Musical
• Mainstream film

Themes

• Marriage
• love
• wedding
• comedy 
• perfect romance

Setting

• Wedding

Sound

• Light
• Up Beat
• Old Fashioned
• Diegetic

Titles

• Worked around dancers
• not integrated
• princess font/ hand written. looks like a wedding invite

Analysis of Catch Me If You Can Film Opening.

Genre

• Action
• Thriller

Narrative

• Tells a story
• Iconagraphy
• Hiding and chasing

Character

• Two main male characters
• Detective/spy
• some one running away.

Atmosphere

• Light
• Fast paced
• Comic
• Tense

Themes

• Chase
• Identity
• Disguise
• Detective

Setting

• Set in the past
• New York (yellow taxi)

Sound

• Mystery
• Retro
• Classic detective 
• light harted
• Comic

Title

• Integrated
• Gave clues about Characters by arrows in the cartoon.

Analysis Of Panic Room Film Opening.

Genre

• Action 
• Thriller

Narrative

• Secretive
• Unknown

Character

• Secretive
• Woman only from the speech at the end

Atmosphere

• Bold
• Cold
• Tense

Themes

• Unknown

Setting

• City
• New York

Sound

• Violins
• Sinister
• Slow to fast building tension

Titles

• Silver like metal making it feel cold
• integrated so they are noticed and feel like part of the film.

Analysis of Lord of War Opening.

Genre
throughout the clip you get the sense that it is going to be a action type film, by the low key lighting and the fast pace of the scenes around the bullet.
Also since it is from the view point of the bullet you get the impression that the film will be about war therefore a very action based genre.
Narrative
I think that the life of the bullet is a metaphor for the life of a person. short lived but experiences a lot things and travels far.
Character
The Character is hard to say because you aren't introduced to anyone.
Atmosphere
Because of the low key lighting there is a dark atmosphere at the beginning  Also since you know what bullets are made for, so you are just waiting for it ti be shot, making it tense.
Themes
Due to the bullet and the path it takes it gives off a war type theme.
Setting

• Factory
• War
• Africa
• Boat

Sound
The sounds is a country rock tune which on first listen sounds quiet joyful which is juxtaposition to the bullet and the war. But listening to the lyrics its about a war/shooting/bombing going down and and people around watching it. It also has the diegetic sound of the factory, boat and war scene is also heard over the top which adds to the juxtaposition.
Titlies
The titles are nonintergrated and centered which means they are easily lost when you are watching the clip.

The Difference Between a Film Opening and a Film Trailer.

The difference between a film opening and a film trailer is, a film trailer is an discontinuous montage of clips, which only give you a small understanding of characters and actors. There can also be an tag line so people can promote the film via social networks such as twitter. Also there is often a voice over to get the audiences attention. Also a trailer tends to have lots of action and fast cuts to keep the viewers interest.
A film opening is usually continuous and gives a brief starting point of the main characters. The theme is also introduced in more detail, more names of cast and crew are also introduced. Also a film opening can sometimes be an animation which is integrated with the title and names of cast and crew.A film also gives you a small view of the plot as well as the atmosphere of the whole film.

Preliminary Tast Evaluation

I felt that our Preliminary task went well there are many things which could definitely be improved but in a whole as a first task we felt that it worked.

Plot + Genre
I think that the plot was clear. You could see that it was a police interrogation about a murder. Also you could tell it was a Horror because of the generic conventions such as the blood and undead character. I think the murder could have been clearer with maybe a close up on the photo of the dead girl to show the clear link between the villain and the murder.

Camera + Editing
I think that we could have been better with the actual filming because the camera is quiet shaky at times. Also some of the shots are unfocused. Also our shot revers shot wasn't as smooth as i would have liked, the angle wasn't right either. I think the best bit of camera and editing was our two match on actions. I think the cuts between the doors worked really well and was smooth. To improve this i would use a steady cam for the tracking and angle the shot reverse shot better.

Sound
I thought that most of the sound worked really well. Some sound effects could have been better timed, this would be imporved with better editing. I also felt that the radio transmition at the begining could have been clearer, since the words are lost behind the effect.

If i was to remake this i would take more time in making sure all the shots and angles where right and spend time in making the editing smooth. i would also recorde the sound in better quality so that it isnt lost in the scene. I would also make the plot clearer by adding more shots of the dead girl so you know what the interrogation is about.

Final Preliminary Task

Shot list for Preliminray Task