After consideration we decided to make some final changes on our film opening. The first was the film title which was originally 'Different Morals' which was written in an italic cambria font, this we thought did not truly reflect the story line so therefor we changed the title to just 'Morals' as well as the font that appeared historic and not italic. But after further discussion and audience feedback we did not think this suited the opening as it was modern and the font was not. So therefore we changed the title to 'elapsed in time' this is to represent the characters struggle with the past how they have not emotionally recovered from the events and also we thought this fits well with the opening scene as there is sections that are rewinding which reflects the alteration of time.
Another change we made was to some of the shots that appeared slightly unstable we edited parts out we thought looked unprofessional and thankfully had original footage we could use to replace in some areas.
To gather feedback for our finished opening we shared the Youtube link of our project onto Facebook, to gain a variety of feedback. We received many comments of appraisal for the project. As well as what they didn't like about it or improvements they think the opening could include.
Here is what some feedback consisted of:
'This is so good!'
'You've used a variety of camera angles which looks effective and the editing looks very professional.'
'The ending has worked well as it ends suddenly adding a dramatic feel, I can tell the genre is a melodrama.'
'You can tell it is a dream sequence'
'Your credits are really well blended into your film.'
'If you had conversation it would have given us a bit more emotional attachment to the characters.'
'Good cut away shots and nice variety of shots and nice variety of shots!'
'Emotional attachment through more vocal!'
'Really enjoyed it Emily well done :)'
After reading the comments, on our next project we will consider adding conversation. We didn't in this opening as we wanted it to seem more dreamlike and surreal.
Emily Read, Sacha Wyatt and I together created 2:07 of the beginning of the film 'Morals'. We individually researched all the background information that was needed to plan the film and the opening. After brainstorming we came up with the plot for the film Morals. Then from this we developed what would happen in the opening as this would be the most important part and helps the audience understand the whole film. We then planned a rough sequence for the opening then arranged a date in which to film taking into consideration we had to all be available and other aspects like the weather. We then together edited the opening together, then uploaded the piece to Facebook for feedback. After obtaining feedback we developed the opening further to then end up with our final piece which we uploaded to Youtube and Facebook.
Analysis
Challenging conventions
Most of the filming was fairly easy to do, as the character of Beth bought a train ticket we was able to portray this easily due to the fact there was the chance to film this from many angles, and we were able to film shots of the signs and othermise-en-scène.But the convention we found hard to portray within the filming was the part when the character actually fell in front of the train. We wouldn't be able to have the character on the train track as it broke to many health and safety rules and any trespassers are fined. So we had to create a build up that allowed the audience know something bad was going to happen, we would also include sound effects. We tried filming a variety of shots that made it seem the character had fallen this included her feet seeming as if she had tripped over her shoelace, but this didn't look realistic and made it seem cheesy. We also tried to make it look as if the character of Beth reached out to catch her, or the character of Beth had run forward towards the edge to try to help. But in the end we edited the speed of my hand grabbing 'Charlotte's' coat in attempt to show that Beth had tried to help. This along with the sound effect I think looks effective and the audience are now able to tell clearly what happens in the opening. Media Institutions
By looking at the outcome of my finished product the media Institution that would distribute my media product is Universal pictures. Although this was already our chosen film company, I also think that it is very suitable for our film. This is due to the fact that Universal's films that they have distributed before some have included controversial content and they have always pushed boundaries such as Dracula, E.T, Jaws and many others. As our storyline includes the struggle of a depressed, mentally effected teenager this could affect some viewers as they might perceive this as being wrong by showing this. Especially the opening that include shocking events, but I think Universal Pictures would be able to distribute this successfully. Social groups
As our opening includes two teenage girls who are close friends, this reflects on most typical teen life. You can see that it is just the two of them which means they have been allowed the permission to be out without parental guidance. This reflects late teens as they become more independent. They also purchase tickets as well as planning to travel by train alone. These are all examples shown within the opening of the representation of independence these two girls have and what most girls there age have.
Evaluation
What I think went well- Camera shots
The main reason I think that our opening is good, is because it has a wide variety of shots. This was due to the fact that the setting it was taken in allowed us to experiment and have this variety. One effective shot is the match on action when the two characters walk through the door of the building. This shot is effective as it shows the character walking smoothly as if they hadn't stopped but the camera angle is now shown from a different perspective, this also allows the other shots taken from this point so that the audience aren't confused by the angles being jumbled up.
Another shot is the 'over the shoulder' shot, although you can't hear the characters talking you are still able to see that they are and the over the shoulder looks very effective. It shows the how one character looks and talks to the other, this relates to the audience the type of relationship they have and from our shot you can tell they a good friends due to the fact they are laughing.
My favourite shot is the one that the two characters are shown to be walking past the camera as the camera stays still and they step into a puddle as they pass. As they step out and ripples are left in the puddle, we faded in text. This I think has worked really well and looks like a professional shot.
Filming skills and preparation
Around November we knew we needed to start filming pieces of the opening, as the sooner the better so that we could spend more time on editing. So we spent a short time brain storming the preparation for the filming, but shortly after was the day we filmed. Once there I found it very easy to film, the surroundings gave me and my group a lot of inspiration for diverse shots. The one thing we made sure was to keep the camera still so the shots weren't wobbly and it looked more professional. But as we filmed we started to see more and more chances for the shots that what we had originally planned. We decided too many shots would be better than not enough. Whilst filming we worked very well as a team and used each others ideas as inspiration and was able to develop on them together. Once we watched the clips back over we could see that we had got the shots exactly how we wanted them and began to edit. Comparison
Looking back at my Preliminary task that we first created at the beginning of the year, I was shocked to see how much more developed our skills had become. Not only just through creativity of the content, but through filming and editing skills too. Watching the preliminary task I could see we the scenes appeared jumpy, the lighting wasn't very good and other small mistakes. Then comparing that to our opening, I could easily see how much we had improved and that we had broadened our techniques of shots as well as editing skills. You can see how much more consideration is put into our final piece that we would not have considered before, things like filming during the day before daylight was lost, including a larger variety of camera angles that before we would not of known of as well as a larger use of props and the characters interacting with the surroundings.
We used Final Cut Express to edit our opening, this allowed access to a variety of techniques that we would be able to use on our film. We could easily cut clips to get them the exact length we wanted and not include parts that weren't needed.
Another technique included reversing a clip, this technique is unusual and we wanted to include at the end of the opening a reverse clip of the whole scene before the character awoke from the dream. This was effective as it happened straight after the accident to add drama to the event and emphasize the feeling that something bad had happened.
We also used lots and one of these was to create the look of CCTV camera footage, this makes it look realistic and professional. We took this shot from a higher up position so that it appeared as it was actually taken by a security camera.
We were also able to slow down clips, this adds dramatic feel and emphasizes for the audience, this was portrayed in the shot were the character of Beth grabbed Charlotte in attempt to save her from falling. Also as this shot was extremely important part as it determines to the audience exactly what happens, we wanted to make sure it looked realistic and tried to avoid it appearing cheesy. So we added an extra effect to this, to make the shot appear blurred and add to the drama that it all happened very quickly although the shot is slowed down.
We could also speed up clips to make it seem more sudden and dramatic, an example of this is the clip in which the train that Charlotte falls in front of, speeds towards the platform we made this clip faster to make it seem like the train was travelling at a lot faster speed and this made it more dramatic.
There were many other effects that we used throughout like black and white colour effect when including the reversed clips so that they were more separated from the other shots. Also included are transactions at the beginning and ends of some clips so they gradually faded in and out. We used this not only on shots but also with the music as well as we thought it made the introduction of the sound more subtle. Such as the heart beat sound effect we used a large transaction to fade the sound from the background until it was the only thing playing so when the title was shown only the heartbeat could be heard. We thought this was very effective as it made it seem more dramatic. We also used the transaction technique by fading for one shot to the next we used this between the shot of the warning sign into the tracker shot of the yellow line, but this was the only time we used this as we didn't want to over use the technique.
Shots that were taken by me
As myself and another member of my group were the characters of our opening this meant that we weren't able to do most of the filming. Although we still took it in turns to film parts that we were not needed in. Such as I filmed the setting, such as the running shot of the yellow line, the warning sign, all of the shots of the moving train and many more. The other member of our group (Sacha Wyatt) was also able to film the sections of me purchasing the train ticket and other parts she was not in. This way it was fair for our group, and everyone had the opportunity to film.
We finished editing our film opening on 22nd November 2012. We then uploaded the finished video onto facebook were we were able to obtain feedback from the age range of 21years-30years old as this is our target audience, due to what we found in the research on the genre. The majority of the comments were positive with a lot or remarks surrounding the variety of camera shots that we included. There was slight negative feedback surrounding the part where one character falls onto the railway tracks in front of the train; as the viewers were slightly confused on exactly what had happened. We will need to reconsider this setion and to include extra features to make the scene clearer to our audience.
Changes made after audience feedback
After lots of consideration are group decided that to add drama to the moment when the character falls, we would need a sound effect such as a scream. After searching the internet for a scream that was suitable to use, we could not find one. So with the help of our teacher who performed the scream, we were able to record our own. This immediately made the suspense and drama increase and just by adding this sound effect helps the audience develop a better understanding. But we were still not happy, and wanted to include something else that would make it more clear to the audience. So we watched all our raw footage from the train station as we took many shots just in case we needed anything else. There was a couple of clips were I tried to make it seem like I had tried grabbing Charlotte's(Sacha's) coat, but because it didn't look right and you could tell she wasn't actually falling we didn't use this before. But after cutting the footage shorter and slowing it down, as well as adding an effect to it looked a lot more effective and realistic. So we used this in our footage. Now the accident is a lot more clearer to the audience and you can tell exactly what happens.
Change of music
We originally used the so 'Use Somebody' which is a popular Kings of Leon song, but becuase we used a cover of this song found on youtube we believed it wasn't copyright. But due to the fact Pixie Lott a famous singer, sung the cover we now recently believe that it could be classed as copyright. So to overcome this issue, we asked our friend to sing a cover of the song for us as she is very musically talented and can also play the guitar. Unfortunatly she wasn't able to sing 'Use Somebody' as it is a very challenging song to play on the guitar as well as sing. So instead our group decided on another song that we though would also be suitable for the film opening. This song was 'Fix you' by Coldplay. We chose this song as we thought not only is the tempo suitable for our opening but also the theme and lyrics of the song.
Schedule
We will be filming the majority of our film on Monday 19th November 2012, after 12:30. Due to the fact we will be starting to film around midday, we will have to be careful not to lose light for our filming, so we must plan our time well in order to get all the shots we need. We have checked the weather forecast for this occasion, and it says it will be raining that morning. This is perfect as we want the scene to appear slightly dull and miserable to reflect what happens in the opening.
As we arrive we shall start filming by taking multiple shots of the outside of the station, this is so we can set the scene at the beginning of our opening, and doing this will not take up much time. We will then go onto filming the two characters purchasing the tickets, for this part there is the option to gain a large variety of shots so this will possibly be time consuming. Next will be the inside of the stations building, there are manymise-en-scène that are positioned within the building including the ticket barriers that allow people onto the platform, we will make sure we include clips of this. Then we will go onto filming on the actual platform, this is the part that is most important as it is a large space and breaking filming rules such as 180degree rule could be a possibility. We will also make sure to include a variety of shots and angles of the platform from different heights too. This part of filming will take the longest as we have to ensure it is perfect and we have all the shots we need as we will not be able to return because scenery lighting and surroundings will change.
Risk assessment
There are a variety of risks that can conflict with health and safety, reviewing the possibilities before filming in our chosen surroundings will help towards preventing them from happening. We will be filming at a train station on a damp wet day at around 1:00pm onwards.
The risk that can be included are
Filming near the rain track meaning our attention could be distracted and there is a high risk level of falling onto the track.
Due to the wet weather the floor will be extra slippery and slipping onto the concrete or onto the train track are also a possibility.
As we are filming outside the floor will be mainly concrete if we was to drop the camera whilst filming it will do some serious damage to the camera and there are high possibilities it would completely break or smash.
As we will be starting filming around 1o'clock and will be positioned outside during winter season then there is the possibility of loosing light.
Research on females in the media I carried out research on females in the media, and I come across and interesting article on this. Found here- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/women-in-the-media-female_n_2121979.html this articles study is taken from a new study that was collaborated between USC Annenberg and Green Davis Institute on gender in Media. They looked at female characters' occupations, attire, body size and whether they spoke or not. There results were as follows
44.3 percent of females were gainfully employed, compared with 54.5 percent of males.
Women across the board were more likely to be shown wearing sexy attire or exposing some skin, and body size trends were apparent: "Across both prime time and family films, teenaged females are the most likely to be depicted thin,"
The ratio of men to women in STEM fields was 14.25 to 1 in family films and 5.4 to 1 on prime time TV.
Perhaps most telling are the percentages of speaking female characters in each media form: only 28.3 percent of characters in family films, 30.8 percent of characters in children's shows, and 38.9 percent of characters on prime time television were women.
Costumes Costumes play a very important part portraying to the audience details about the characters, if they wore a police uniform the audience would instantly know the characters were police officers. So an outfit for a character effects greatly how the audience assumes the characters personalities. For the costumes our budget we had the price range from £20-£100, this was enough due to the costumes being fairly basic. We researched the high street shops and what where the most popular affordable coats and autumn wear, we then chose from the mainstream teenager's clothes shops what clothing we thought would suit the characters personalities. Character Profile Bethany- Age:17 Date of birth:27/09.95 Height: 5ft6 Siblings: 1 brother named Ben Lives with: Mother and brother. The character of Beths personality has good critical faculty and she is able to stand back and look impartially at
matters which call for an impartial judgment to be made on them. But Beth does not
tolerate arguments from anyone who challenges her opinions, for once they have
reached a conclusion, its truth seems to them self-evident; and among their
faults is an impatience of criticism and a greed for approval. But her
characteristics are on the whole balanced, diplomatic and even tempered. Beths interests, like most teenage girls are mainly social. She isn't seen without her phone and has a fair few friends that are boys. She doesn't show many interests in hobbies although has tried countless clubs from Karate to learning a new language, but doesn't attend for long. Beth likes to do activities that are mainly activities and has a strong head for heights. But unfortunately due to the traumatic events that take place within the film, Beth's personality is lost as she becomes mentally ill. But nearer the ending of the film, she develops to become stronger and is mentally restored. Charlotte- Age:16 Date of birth: 23/06/96 Height: 5ft4 Siblings: 3 brothers, 1 sister. Mark, Jason, Tom and Jasmine Charlotte is born into a large family her home is very warm and filled with love, for its inhabitants tend to favour
comfortable type of house a place which belongs to the family rather than existing
as a showcase to impress visitors. Although Charlotte has grown up surrounded with family members, she can also be very reserved and because of this she can sometimes appear thick-skinned and unemotional, but she is the complete opposite, she just doesn't show it. But those who are very close to Charlotte (Beth) a very different character compared with others, she sees Charlotte as someone who is sympathetic and kindly sensitivity to other people, especially her family. Charlotte is very imaginative and can often over-imagine and is prone to
fantasy, sometimes distracting her from what is happening around her. Charlotte's interests are not as much social compared too Beth's, but she has a passion for horses and that is her main hobby. She has attended countless shows and performed and one many too. Her, her mother, and siblings all work at a local stables and own many horses that perform. James Age: 19 Date of birth: 24/11/93 Height: 6ft Siblings: 1brother, 1sister. Jack and Megan.
The character of James isn't shown until later on in the film. At the end he becomes Beths partner, and he helps her recover mentally. James is enthusiastic about life. He is friendly, warm and seeks to make other people feel good too. James tends to be generous with information as they are with gifts. They tend to be optimistic, bright and sociable. His life quest is to experience life to the full - incorporating adventures: mental and physical.He have a high degree of adaptability making his personality strong. This is why he is capable of helping Beth and doesn't stop fighting until he has her. This is due to his strong character and any other typical person wouldn't be able to cope. His main interests are cars, and his hobbies include football. He plays football regularly every weekend with all his closest friends on his team. He attends University at The University of Kent and takes a course on Architecture.
The main character (Beth) of our film is a teenage girl around the age 16-17, she will be a stereotypical young girl who is bubbly and happy with a clean girly natural clean appearance. We also decided to having a neat pristine appearance represents her upper-class background. We chose skinny jeans form Miss Selfridge, plain pink top from New Look, brown ankle boots from H&M, black side bag form Select and a Navy hooded coat from River Island. As we already had the Coat, shoes and bag available to us we only had to purchase the plain bottoms and top; this came to a total of £35.
Due to the character of charlotte being fairly shy and timid, we used dull colours that weren't outstanding and bright, and made sure she was fairly wrapped up to reflect her timid personality. We purchased the basic grey cardigan and black leggings from New Look for a total of £25.00. We already had the shoes available and the coat which we thought was subtle and saved us money.
Location The location of the film opening is very important, whether it is clear to see where the scene is set can help the audience get a better of understanding of the story. This includes the conventions within the location as they have to fit in with the scene and help determine the setting. Our film will be set in a train station, it will include conventions such as train tickets, train track, train barriers; showing clearly the location to the audience will give them a better understanding of what is happening. The train station we have chosen to film at, is a local one that all our group can easily get to. It is situated on Station Road, Rainham.
Lighting Lighting is very important and different lighting can give the scene a different characteristics. Such as gloomy dull light scene will portray a horror or thriller scene, but a brightly colourful lighting will portray more happy comedy theme. Lighting also has to be clear so that the audience can see clearly what is happening, if the lighting was very poor then the scene would be hard to explain. For our film opening scene it will be mainly filmed outside but on a dull day so the lighting is still clear but the gloomy weather reflects the mood of the scene. Music Music is very important part of a film, the type of music reflects greatly on the scene and it relates to the audience of the type of feeling of a scene. If a scene was horror related and something gothic happens, then the music would need to reflect this by being slow and eerie or fast and emphasise suspense; if the music was upbeat pop song it would not fit the scene and will confuse the audience. In our film we are using the song 'Use somebody' originally written and produced by Kings of Leon, but we will be using a cover of the song which is slower and fits our genre better. Use Somebody, Pixie Lott cover:
Opening credit fonts Opening credits within a film are very important, these include all people that participated in the creation of the film as it is important to give credit to peoples efforts. It also allows the audience to see the names of the actors and for well-known popular actors this is good as it will give the film a good reputation before viewers see it. At the beginning of our film opening we will make sure that we include all of our groups name, and we will be able to use a variety of effects to edit these into clips. The font we decided on for the credits is Cambria, we chose this one as it doesn't look too fancy and we think it fits the opening well. We didn't want something that was hard to read and we didn't want it to distract the audience from the contents. We also will choose the text to be white, we think this will be suitable as it will show up in each shot, choosing black then the text won't show up against the background. Film certificate A film certificate is an age guideline that the film would be acceptable for their viewing, this then means anybody wanting to watch the film has a rough idea on the contents being acceptable or not. For example a parent may purchase a film on dvd but are not sure whether it's suitable for their 9year old daughter and because of the certificate they will be able to know if it is. For out film we have decided the film certificate to be 12, this is because the film includes a mature storyline and include very mild language, with some intimate scenes. Nudity, bad language, drugs and discrimination There may be some mild language near the middle of the film but that is all, there will be no nudity throughout this film. No recreational drugs will be used or feature in the film, although some medicines are included in the film. There will be no signs of any sort of discrimination throughout the film. Film Company Our choice of film company is Universal pictures, we have decided on this as we know that this it is well-known and has a good reputation for the films being of goo quality and this is what we want our film to represent. Starting with a popular film company can influence our audience to see the film, they are less likely to watch a film with and un-known company producing it. Universal pictures is an American motion picture studio, owned by Comcast, and one of the six major movie studios. It is one of the longest-lived motion picture studios to be located outside of Hollywood. They have produced a large variety of films over decades, with large vast genres from children's films to horrors. Films also created under Universal pictures- Les Miserables, Jaws, Fast & Furious, Bridesmaids, The Bourne Supremacy, Tower Heist, Snow White & The Huntsman, Ted, Wanted and many more.
The genre of our film is Melodrama, this means that the storyline will include lots or drama from romance to deaths. The main character of our film is Beth Morgan played by myself (Emily Hamer). The story is her struggle with inner conflict as she recovers the shocking and disturbing loss of her best friend. Due to the traumatic event Beth is left with many mental problems and has developed trust issues, disorders and depression due to her beliefs on how the event really occurred from her point of view from preventing it occurring. Her life of recovery after the accident includes more dramatic turns that leads to her eventually meeting her sole partner although their relationship is complicated and troubled due to Beth being emotionally scarred. Due to the relationship of Beth's romance being unclear and not certain it leaves the audience indecisive of what the ending of the story will develop to be. But in a turn of events the ending scene is a flash to the future as it shows that Beth had been able to recover and settle down to have a stable relationship with not only her new Husband but also her family and friends.
Film Title
For our film we brainstormed to decide on a suitable title for our film that could grab our target audiences attention as well as fitting with the films plot.
Our final decision for the title is 'Morals' this is due to the fact we think Beth perception and idea on how the death of her best friend died is perceived as being completely different to the truth. As well as how her distinction between right and wrong affects her life and the decisions she makes, after the accident occurred.
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text on a blank screen or over the top of pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There may or may not be accompanying music. Where opening credits are built into a separate sequence of their own, the correct term is title sequence
While there are numerous variations most opening credits use some variation of the basic order noted within:
(NAME OF THE STUDIO)
Name of the studio that is distributing the film and may or may not have produced it (Walt Disney Pictures, Columbia, Lions Gate, Universal, Marvel Studios, Dimension, Miramax etc.).
(NAME OF THE PRODUCTION COMPANY)
Name of the production company that actually made the film or name of the investment groups or companies that financed a substantial part of the film (usually credited as "in association with" or "A (studio name) production.").
(PRODUCER NAME) PRODUCTION(director only) e.g. A FILM BY (DIRECTOR NAME)
Director's first credit, often a film by' or 'a XY film'.
STARRING
Principal actors, (Sometimes the stars' and director's credits will be reversed, depending on the star's deal with the studio; sometimes, as in many of Disney's films, the title of the film will be shown before the names of its actors; sometimes, as in many of Cannon's films, the names of the principal actors will be shown before the names of the producers.
FILM'S TITLE
Name of the film (can sometimes be placed at the ending of the opening scene.)
FEATURING
Featured actors.
CASTING or CASTING BY
Casting director.
MUSIC or MUSIC COMPOSED BY or ORIGINAL SCORE BY
Composer of music.
PRODUCTION DESIGN or PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Production designer.
An example of a film opening following the convention of the timeline is the films Avatar, Wanted, The mummy returns, The dark knight, How to train your dragon and many more.
Timeline for our film opening For our film opening we will be using this order of credits with only slight change in order. Firstly we will start the opening with introduction clip of our film company which is Universal pictures. Then onto the credits which will be edited into the scenes, first will be the title of the production company we will include 'See film productions'. Next are the names of the main actors/actresses starting with the main starring 'Emily Hamer, Sacha Wyatt, Emily Read'. We then will included the Director of the film 'Ben Affleck'. Next is the Editor 'Richard Jenkins' and the music producer 'Ben Pearce'. Lastly is the producer 'David Andrews'
Text size/font/colour
After researching film openings of different genre films we looked at the variety of font that is used. we decided to keep the font for the credits simple, we chose this as we wanted the text to be readable as well as not distracting the audience from the scene. But for the title of the film this is different as it will be the last clip of the scene and will have no background we decided on having a different font to make it appear more prominent, but still keeping the same colour as the rest of the text.
To research about my target audience I have created a
questionnaire to find out more information, and help me make decisions in what
my film should include. I have included the basic details about the participant
including gender and age; this will determine what type of audiences prefer
what such as the genre they prefer and how many films they watch per month. I then have
presented the information on clear graphs comparing answers of the questions
with age and gender of the audience.
Our questionnaire
asking a total of 50people, 25 of which are males and 25 females. 17people under the group of 11-20years old, 23 21-30year olds and 10 31-40year olds.
Results
This is the results of the range of age and gender of the
participants for the questionnaire. This information was
collected by asking them individually 'What gender are you?'
and 'How old are you?'. By recording what questionnaire was
completed by who, I can then see what each gender prefers
and what each age groups prefer. By looking at the graph I am
able to see that 21-30year olds are the most common age group of
participants, which can mean my results may lean towards that
group slightly. But I will still be able to see what the majority
of the other age groups prefer.
These are the results for 'How often do you watch films per
month?'. By asking this question I am able to determine what
gender are more likely to watch films, this means that if a
particular gender on average watched more filme then this
would be a better target audience as there is the opportunity to
make more sales from them. From my questionnaire it shows
males where overall more likely to watch the most films by 6
males answering they watched 11-20 films a month and 12
males watching 6-10 films a month comapred with 4 females
saying they would watch 11-20 films a month and 10
answering that they would watch 6-10 a month. So from this I
can see that males would be a slightly better target audience
compared with females, but this could be changed dut to age.
This is the results for the question 'What is your favourite film
genre?', I chose to record these results to show which gender
prefer which genre. This will then help me determine the
gender for my target audience. By looking at the results Males
prefer Action films as their favourite genre with 8 out of
25. Females said that they preferred Romance as their
favourite genre with 8 out of 25 choosing Romance.
Melodrama was the second most popular for females and
Horror was the second most popular for males. These results
I can then take into consideration, when deciding what genre to
use for my film and can see what gender my target audience
that my film will appeal to the most.
This graph shows the results for the question 'What is your favourite film genre?' for the different age groups. For the age group 31-40years old the graph shows that they are most likely to prefer melodrama as the most popular genre. For 21-30 years old, their preferred genre is Action. 11-20 years old is shown to prefer Action as the most popular genre. These results will give a clear idea on what ages prefer which genre's and when deciding on what genre to use for our film, we will know what age group it most likely appeal too.
For further research on the questions that the answers were vague, I carried out a short focus group. A focus group consists of my main target audience so that I can carry out specific questions and receive more detailed answers. By doing this I am able to cover more research and in more detail. By looking at my questionnaire results I have a variety of answers across all genres. But because our chosen film genre is Melodrama I will be looking at the age range of 31-40years and the gender that showed they preferred Melodrama was Females. Although my questions could of been effected due to some age groups not knowing what some of the genres actually consisted on so instead they chose the genre they knew. So for one of my focus group question I will ask 6females 2 in each age range, will be 'What is your favourite film genre?' but I will give them a short definition of each genre and a stereo-typical summary of what they consist of. This is something I wouldn't be able to do in my short questionnaire as it would of made questions too long and the participants would of been less likely to fill it out. It will also give a fairer chance and the feedback will be more accurate.
1. What is your favourite film genre?
Aged 11years-20years: 'Comedy is definitely my favourite genre, no matter what mood i'm in the films always cheer me up and change my emotions.' Female aged 17
'I would choose other and say Romantic Comedies, as I can't choose between the two and all my favourite films fall under that category.' Female aged 19
Aged 21years-30years: 'I do like a Melodrama, it's always unexpected of what happens in the storyline, when with a action or romance you can basically guess whilst it's happening.' Female aged 25
'Romance is definitely my favourite, it's like watching a life you wished you had.' Female aged 29
Aged 31years-40years: 'I like action films as there is always so much drama and I actually enjoy the fighting scenes as it looks so realistic and I know it must of taken a lot of practice to pull of the moves and sequences.' Female aged 40
'Comedy is my favourite and always has been, they always make me laugh and feel good.'
The next question I will ask is 'What would you expect a good film opening to consist of?' this question will allow me to see what the expectations of target audience's opinion of a good film opening. Not only will this give my group inspiration for ideas on what to include, but it will also help us see what our target audience expects. I will ask 3Females aged 31-40years as this is what appears to be the genre Melodrama's typical audience.
2. What would you expect a good film opening to consist of?
'Anything that grabs my attention, usually something unexpected or a type of accident. Then I want to watch more to see how it turns out and effects the rest of the film.' Female aged 32
'Well in the opening I prefer when not much really happens, I don't like it when films open on to a really confusing clip and it leaves you feeling uncomfortable as you have no idea what is happening.' Female aged 40
'Definitely something interesting, the opening is always the part that consists of something shocking that the rest of the revolves around maybe like a death.' Female aged 35
Animatics storyboard is a useful and important part of planning, it shows all the angles and shots that are included and helps determine the order in which they will go in. In class we created a short video of an animatic plan for our film opening; we sketched out each clip such as the close-up angles and long shots, to show which order we wanted our opening to be in. We also added the background music that we created for our opening, this is like a rough copy to get the idea what our opening looks like. When editing the clips together, we was able to become familiar with the software discovering and testing the tools available made our editing skills develop. As at the moment the editing isn't very aesthetic and appears a little patchy but this will help when coming to edit our final piece as we would of been able to improve on the techniques used with the animatics.
The strengths of our film opening is that there is the possibility for a wide range of camera angles, as shown in the animatics a few of the possibilities, but after further planning we will be able to develop on this using the animatics as inspiration. A weakness of the animatics is that it isn't a very clear storyboard as it is very basic, and only to get a general idea of the scene, although this is a good basic structure to help develop our ideas further.
Harry Potter- Film opening
The film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone is a fantasy adventure; this
is represented well through the mise en scène of the opening reflects this
genre well. Such as, as the scene opens with a mid shot of an owl amongst a
very foggy dull-lit scene; sitting on the road sign listing where the main
character lives and is set at night whilst it is very foggy and dark. An owl
can be related to the fantasy style of wizardry, along with the weather
conditions of at night time; this first opening scene is effective and relates
well to the rest of the film.
The camera then pans out as it follows the owl flying off into a long shot
off the dark misty road. A character then approaches closer from the distance;
it then cuts to a mid shot of character as he walks behind something and the
camera then focuses a mid shot onto a cat sitting; this shot is showing an
important feature to the audience.
After this the camera cuts back to the first character, who is still walking up
the quiet road whilst taking out an object from his pocket and then lifts the
object up. A close up angle is used on the object as the character flicks it
on, using a close up angle means the audience can see clearly what the
character is doing and gets a better understanding of what is happening. At
that moment it cuts to a long shot from over the shoulder of the character,
showing from his perspective what is happening as he seems to take the light
from the street lights and seemingly sucking it into his gadget. This unusual
happening shows that the film is definitely a fantasy and through this duration
the background music picks up-tempo emphasizing to the audience. As the
character turns to the last street lamp, this would be the end of the opening
as the scene carries on in the same setting.
Dear John- Film opening
The film Dear John’s genre is romance. At the beginning of the film the
opening credits include the film’s production company screen gems, relativity
media and temple hill. It opens on to an over the shoulder shot of the main
character lying on the floor with a typical army uniform on, this shows the
audience already where he is by recognising how he is dressed, this also
includes a voice over of the main character the audience knows this as he
speaks in first person. It then cuts to a mid shot showing more of the scene
and his colleague picking up his limp body up as he appears injured. Then coins
begin to rush across the scene as it cuts to a memory of the characters
childhood, with a head shot of the characters facial expression portraying
happiness. It then cuts to a series of extreme close ups that include the
making of coins, this is detail that the director wanted the audience’s
attention to be drawn to as may mean importance later on in the film. It then
cuts back to the main character and a voice over of him saying a metaphor about
the characters life in the army, and then finally a close up of the character
as it fades to the credits.
Here is a link to a clip of the opening scene of the film- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaC3-8iyUsI
Review of Melodrama genre film opening
The flood: who will save our children- Film opening
The flood is a Melodramatic film directed by Chris Thomson in 1993 based on true events. The opening scene to this film is very effective as a typical Melodramatic film it shows the characters at the happiest positive stage. The first clip is a long shot of the outside of the church as it shows lots of people standing around a bus, this allows the audience to see the setting and have a better understanding. It then cuts to shots of a parent hugging and talking to their child with the film title text across the screen. It also includes a short clip of a character filming with a camcorder, which helps the audience distinguish that the next shots are recorded from this characters point of view. It then cuts to another character whom is sitting and waving towards the camera as well as the shot including effects on the screen to look like it is recorded by the hand held camera, giving the audience a better understanding. The next couple of shots also include this effect as it records families laughing together hugging and kissing emphasising the feeling of close relatives and portrays to the audience the sense of happiness of love. The children then aboard the bus as they call through the windows goodbye to their families; this gives a clear message that a class of children are going on a type of trip and that they all have close loving families and this portrayed clearly to the audience.
The genre of a film is the type of category the theme falls under.
Action Action film genre typically includes a series of challenges that require physical adventures, extended fights and frantic chases. It includes a character that will have to challenge against odds, which may involve life-threatening situations, an evil villain, and/or being pursued, with victory achieved at the end after difficult physical efforts and violence. Explosions, fist fights, gunplay and car chases are all typical institutions of the action genre. Subgenres for action- action comedy, action horror, sci-fi action as well as others. Examples of action genre- Die Hard, Jurassic Park, 48hours Origins of action During the 1920s and 1930s, action-based films were often adventure films in which Douglas Fairbanks wielded swords in period pieces or Westerns. In the 1970s, detective stories and urban crime dramas began to combine themselves with the new "action" style, which lead to others such as maverick police officer films, such as those defined by Bullitt in 1968. Horror Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a emotionally stunning experience. Horror films effectively centre on the dark side of life, the forbidden, and strange and alarming events. They deal with our most primal nature and its fears: our nightmares, our vulnerability, our alienation, our dislikes, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death and dismemberment, or loss of identity. Subgenres of horror- Comedy horror, gothic horror, natural horror, science fiction horror. Example of horror genre- Friday the thirteenth, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street Origins of horror Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over a 100 years ago. From our earliest days, we use our vivid imaginations to see ghosts in shadowy shapes, to be emotionally connected to the unknown and to fear things that are unlikely. One of the first origins of supernatural events appear in several of the silent short film created by the film pioneer Georges Méliès in the late 1890s; and since then has developed and evolved into the modern horror films. Romance Romance film can be defined as a genre wherein the plot revolves around the love between two main characters. This genre usually has a theme that explores an issue within love, including but not limited to: love at first sight, forbidden love, love triangles, and sacrificial love. The tone of Romance film can vary greatly. Whether the end is happy or tragic, Romance film aims to evoke strong emotions in the audience. Subgenres of romance- RomCom(Romance comedy), Romantic action, Romantic thriller. Examples of Romance genre- Ghost, As good as it gets, Notting Hill Origins of romance Romantic movies have a long history which has started since
1890s. Even though silent films were majority in the earliest days, filmmakers
described romance, desire and sex. Then romantic films described some painful
love from 1920s to 1950s. After this period, a variety of unusual pairs appeared
on the screen from 1960s to 1980s. Furthermore, unusual love has been often
expressed in romantic films since 1990. There are several periods of romantic
movies and each describes different types of love.
Melodrama The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behaviour, or events which resemble them. It is usually includes music that is slow or emphasizes the more emotion provoking situations that the character experiences allowing the audience to feel empathy. Examples of Melodrama- Far from Heaven, Rain Man, Sling Blade, Ryan's Daughter, Breaking the Waves and many more. Origins of Melodrama Beginning in the 18th century, melodrama was a technique of combining spoken narrative with short pieces of accompanying music. The first full melodrama was Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Pygmalion, the text that was written in 1762 but was first staged in Lyon in 1770. English melodrama was really evolved from the tradition of populist drama established during the Middle Ages by mystery and morality plays, under influences from Italian media as well as German drama of the post-Revolutionary period. Why we chose melodrama For our film opening we decided to choose the genre Melodrama, the reasons for this decision was that we liked the feelings that it portrays to the audience and our group thought that this genre made us feel more captured to the storyline and provoke us to watch more. We also thought this would be an easy genre to portray in the opening. By including slow music to show drama that will emphasise the sad emotions, maybe showing a character grieving so that the viewer feels empathy and drawn into the film making them want to watch more. Film inspiration from a Melodrama After researching into Melodrama's and looking at films under that genre, we came across the film 'The Flood: Who will save our children'. This film we particularly liked due to many reasons. The first was that the opening was very effective as it was typically joyful with happy families bidding goodbye to their siblings and children, which we thought was very good foreshadowing (I reviewed this opening in more detail under 'Film opening reviews'). Also that the film was based on a true event, this we thought was very effective as the audience will be able to imagine the grief of the families as they know it actually happened. Also the loss of a child is very sad as they are still young and innocent this will also be very effective for the audience. Losing a family member is very common and due to this the audience will be able to relate to this, meaning they will get more emotionally attached not just to the characters but also the storyline. Although these are all typical occurrences in Melodrama as they are emotion provoking and dramatic, but we hope to reflect this greatly in the film opening. This way we are sure to grab our audience's attention and they will definitely want to see how the event affects the rest of the film. We want to include possibly a death in the opening and maybe the accident is by a natural phenomenon or something that is a common death. We would also want the characters to be young as this also will play on the viewer's emotions as they are perceived as being more helpless and young.
