Research and Planning Provisional Mark

You need to revisit research posts and explore further target audience, editing, mise en scene, locations, camera compostition, sound, light, branding, use of titles, genre indicators, key moments. Create an animatic using your storyboard materials and comments on its strengths. You need to evidence your music research and choices. Post on the history of your genre. Make sure you haven't posted something without commenting on it fully. 13/20

Actors interviews

This is our actor interviews we decided that we would ask each about what kind of films we liked from a variety of genre and who our favourite actors and directors are, this is to show who we enjoy to watch and what kind of films we enjoy, it is essentially a profile of our group. This suggests that christopher Nolan is our groups most popular Director as well as Action being our favourite genre.

Film Script

Detective 1:Albert Rendle
Detective 2: Thomas Popay
Witness: Luke Swaine
Officer: Sam Valente

Witness: please! Come quick, I’ve found a body by the bridge, I think he fell.

Cut

Detective 2:
you should really stop smoking you know.

Detective 1:
My family thinks so too, Maybe a new year’s resolution?

Officer enters scene

Detective 1:
Morning officer.

Officer:
Sir, the body’s over there in the corner, initial reports are here along with forensics reports,

, this looks like a weird one sir.

Detective 1:
Alright, I’ll take a look.

Cut

Detective 1:
What’s this?

Throws/catch cut

Detective 1:
What’s in there?

Detective 2:
Diamonds.

Detective 1:
Looks like robbery wasn’t the motive.

Cut

Detective 1:
What’s this? Huh, foreign licence.

Cut

Detective 2:
So what was the killer actually after then?

Cut

Detective 1:
I don’t know but I plan to find out, there’s a blood trail over there, looks like something was dripping the victim’s blood.

Cut

Detective 2:
Let’s see where this leads.

Cut

Detective 1:
What’s that? Looks like a briefcase or something.

Cut

Detective 2:
there it is

Cut

Detective 2: So what do you think happened?

Detective 1:
Well…

Narration of flashback begins

Detective 1:
The killer knew the victim would be there, so he waited for him and simply took him by surprise and pushed him off the bridge later throwing the case in the river.

Narration of flashback ends

Detective 2:
that makes sense, but what’s in the case?

Detective1:
Let’s find out.

Cut to opening of case

Detective 2:
Shit.

I think that this script is a good one because it explores the key things we wnat the audience to notice, such as the briefcase, the fact that nothing important was stolen. The script also leaves the audience in suspence for what will happen after the titles have past. I enjoyed filming with this script although some words in the script are missing, but it really doesn't effect the film in any way.

Timeline of AS media

6th September - Started AS level media coursework
First time we learned about the course and what kind of media product we would have to make, also set up the blog, learned about how to analyse opening 2 minutes.

11th October - Preliminary task completed
Learnt several filming techniques including shot reverse shot and Match on action, it was also our first use of the school cameras.

9th November - Inital filming shots and planning shot ideas
Produced ideas about how to use our location to the best we can, also decided what kind of shots we will use and how we are going to film.

17th November - First filming weekend
30 seconds of filming produced. Began editing in class over the week, also tried to come up with institution name and the font we will be using.

7th December - Final filming weekend
Produced about 2 minutes of footage and is currently being edited in class, we also produced our own non-digetic sound for use in the film.

9th December - Editing started
We began to use Adobe Premier Elements 10 to edit our footage.

14th February - Deadline for completing film

24th February - Evaluation of Project Begins

4th April - Evaluation of Project Ends

Costume research

In our film we are planning to use a number of different costumes and props. Here is a list of potential costumes and props we are planning to use:

This is the kind of costume we are planning for our main portagonist to wear, this is because it looks very out of the ordinary and makes him stand apart from the other detective, this makes the character stand out and draws the audiences attention to him.

We also plan to have a police officer in the scene, so we will be using a vest, white shirt and black shoes and trousers, this is to make out that this is an actual crime scene, and to add realism to the scene, we will not however have them wearing any kind of hat as we would be unable to use it for legal reasons.

We plan for the detectives sidekick to be more uniformed and more regulatory, this is to give the idea that he is good at his job but doesn't step beyond the bonds of the law, it is also to show he is a lot more professional with his job.

The antagonist we believe is going to be apart of some kind of mafia style crime organsiation, he also has the style of a Hitman in an expensive suit, this is to make him look professional and to make him look like he is the antagonist.

The victim shall be wearing some smart casual clothes because we do not know who he is, this is to add mystery to him because we don't know what his affilation is, so we don't know why he was murdered.

The innocent bystander who finds the body will be wearing casual clothes a hoodie and jeans, this is too make him look like he is not affiliated with anyone.

Make-up research

For our film we needed to add make-up to our corpse we had, for this we looked for several tutorials on the internet, and we eventually found one from the TV series The Walking Dead.

This tutorial helped us get our victims face looking like someone has just fallen of a bridge, and it worked very well despite the cold conditions we were filming in, it did however begin to peal off due to the cold, however by the time that happened we didn't need the corpse anymore.

 

We have decided to create our own tutorial on how to do this kind of makeup. In this we show how we made our dead guy look more realistic, the make up looked very realsitic and it was relatively easy to set up, the makeup also very easily comes off, only needing hot water to peel staight off.

 

Font Research

This is the font used for the crime film se7en, it can be seen as very freaky and scary for the viewer, this font shows that the villain might be slightly psychotic, and the removal of the V for a 7 adds to the idea that the film is based around the seven deadly sins.

This font used by the mentalist is very basic and standsout very well from the background, the why they suggest that the mentalist thinks outside the box, suggests he is very clever and is the main character of the programme.

 

 This font used in Luther is very bold and stands out amongst the red background, that is often used to symbolise death, love and envy, this suggests these themes are carried around in the programme.

Friends with Benefits

In friends with benefits the editing used in the scene is fast cuts between the two different couples, this shows the audience that both couples are breaking up at the same time, this helps the audience keep in time with the conversations, it is also not what we expect from the start of a romance film because break-ups normally would talk place during the middle section of a film. The fast pace of editing shows the anger between the couples as they rapidly come up with lines, they also tend to cut from one female to the other, this could help show how females react to different sides of a break up. The clothes they are wearing suggests that both couples are on dates, as they are wearing smart/casual clothes, this would be expected from a date as they wouldn't want to be seen as lazy or very wealthy, they would be wanting to look good. Mila Kunis's character has a sandwich for her partner, this suggests that she has known him for a long time and she wants to impress him, this goes against the conventions of a normal romance film because it would normally be the male character who has to try and impress the female, but in this scene the roles are reversed, but in the other scene Justin Timberlake's character brought his partner concert tickets, this conforms with the convention and shows the difference between the two couples. The background of both couples suggests that they are not in the same city as the background for Mila Kunis's character is the Empire state building in New York, while Justin's character is in-front of Capitol records in Los Angles, this suggests to the audience that despite being the main characters they still don't know who each other are. There is good use of non-digetic sound in the clip as they start the break-up very comical music begins to play, this suggests to the audience that there relationships were jokes and they weren't taking them seriously. The camera-work in the film uses a close up over the shoulder shot this helps show the emotions and it helps us see from their perspective what they are seeing, they also use shallow focus, so only the characters speaking are in focus, this allows the audience to focus on the person speaking and not anything in the background.

Filming vlog

In this post I will post a variety of film and images of us filming and the location to give you an idea about how filming went and how we were able to do a variety of the shots and performances.

In this we are showing how we did the grabbing the bag out of the river scene.

Music Research

In our film we are planning to add our own non-digetic sound into the film scenes, this will be our own production so it will be non-copyright, however we have gained several inspirations from non-digetic sound from TV and film, such as Luther and Seven:

In this scene luther is getting DNA of a suspect, by hitting him in the face and taking blood from his face. The non-digetic sound is a very dramatic, and leads to a build up in tension, this helps build to the surprise at what luther does because the audience wouldn't be expecting him to be hitting people in the middle of the street. The music itself is very common in this series as there is a lot of tension within many of the scenes.

In the end scene to se7en, the music is slow and builds up to the discovery of the severed head, this helps build to the eventual shooting, the non-digetic sound is also very effective in building up the idea that Kevin Spacey's character is a psychopath, with the use of screeching instruments, helps build tension in the scene, as well as that the drum beat at the end helps add to the tension because the audience doesn't know what is going to happen.

This is the famous 24 timer countdown, the iconic sound builds significant tension between cuts in scenes, but it also does several other things effectively, for instance they also act as a way of indicating to the audience that there is a change of time and scene, allowing the audience to know that there is a different location or the scene has skipped ahead in time. It can also add tension to the scene if there is a fight or bomb threat inside the actual scene.

P.S. I love you

First 2 minutes only

In the opening to PS I love you they use deep focus camera work to keep the whole scene in focus and helps us know that both characters are important in this film. there is also good use of high and low angle shots while they are on the stairs, this helps demonstrate the dominate character in the film as the women, as she towers of the man, this suggests that she could be in the right in there argument, it could also bring back ideas of Romeo and Juliet on the balcony scene, as Romeo goes after the girl he loves. They also use medium two shot, when they are in there room getting change, they are both on opposite sides of a wall, this separation suggesting there love is in trouble and they are at a disagreement, it could be seen as a metaphor of their love separating while they are changing as people. The clothes they are wearing are look very expensive suggesting that they have just been on a date at an expensive restaurant, this suggests that they have been together  for a while as they wouldn't want to waste money on a meal with someone then split, this suggests they are a married couple. There apartment has a lot of stuff in it and looks very messy, it also looks very expensive, this suggests that they are a wealthy couple, but very unorganised, this could suggest that they have very busy lives and they both have jobs, this could suggest that there relationship is strained because they aren't seeing each as much us they would like. The scene has fast pace editing shots to emphasise the argument as they cut between characters. The main titles are not present at the start of the film which suggests that the film is more emmersive allowing the audience to see more of the film, also the title PS I love you is used in the film so it wouldn't really require an opening title. There is very little non-digetic sound used in the opening, this is to make the audience focus on the argument between the couple, however they do use it very effectivley at the start to make everyone notice that they might be in an argument, it very quickly fades out to allow the audience to notice the start of the talking.  

List of shots used in the Film

This is the lst of the film shots we plan to use in our film and what effect they will have on the audience:

• High angle shot, will give the audience the power of the dead body we will have, will also act as the establishing shot, and give the audience a full view of the crime scene.
• Dolly shot, allows the movement of people towards the cmaera, looks impressive, the audience believes that the detectives are travelling somewhere.
• medium shots, will show the audience close hand gestures, most common camera shot used in our film.
• Low angle shots, This prevents the audience knowing what they are looking at, this adds to the suspence to the film and makes the audience wonder what they are looking at.
• Close Up shots, allow specific detail to be shown, especially actor expressions and small objects we will be using in shot.
• Two shot. we will be using two shot to show two actors in the same shot , this allows for more fluent conversations instead of editing back and forth between two actor who are right next to each other.
• Match-on-action: allows a fluent flow of action, this is useful because it looks very good in our film, and it is better then having it all in one shot.
• Long shot, This shot gives us a full view of the actors and gives more detail on where they are and what there doing, this gives it more context to what they do.
• Birds eye view

Dredd opening scene

In Dredd there is a wide use of compilation footage of various riots and civil unrest, this is to give the audience an idea of what the world is like, as the main character narrates, this helps the audience relate his words to visual images. The film also has several extreme long shots as the establishing shot, this helps the audience see where the film is based. They also use birds eye view shots and extreme long shots using panning shots, this helps show us all details of the city and helps gives us an idea of the size and scale of the setting. The close up shots of Dredd getting his equipment and suit on help build suspence in the audience because they can't see his face so they cna't tell what he looks like, however as he is the narrator, which helps as get an idea of the background of the film, the audience is likely to sympathise with him more even though the sound of his voice is very aggresive and we wouldn't want to meet someone like that, he also has to wear body armour which suggests he is in a very dangerous job, this makes the audience excited as we know this will be an action film, this also conforms to what we think should be in an action film. There is also the addition of a heads-up display to the camera footage to make it look more realistic and futuristic, it makes it very immersive to the audience as they will feel like they are actually watching the people do this in the street. The people in the long shots seem to be gang members, this suggests that there is some crime involved in the film as gangs are stereotypically involved in violence like drugs and gun shootings, this gives the audience an idea of what the main antagonist will be like, but because we don't know who they are yet we are left wondering who it is and how bad they are. The panning shot of the main headquarters pans upwards to give the building the power in the shot, this shows us that they are the people in charge and they have authority over us. Dredd also uses his DNA locked Gun which is very Sci-fi as DNA checking guns don't exist, this suggests that there is a lot of action in the film, and conforms to what we expect of a futristic action film with very appealing weaponry. The main title of the film DREDD is in a very explosive font suggesting it is a piece of shrapnel, suggests to the audience the film is action-packed. The non-digetic sound used is also very dark adn rythmic, this helps build up pace and tension that the audience will hook onto, because its catchy, this eventually builds to the title sequence where it becomes very loud allowing it to ove onto the next scene with the motorbike chase. The motorbike used at the end of the scene suggests that the movie contains vehicle chases which are commonly used in action films to build up tension and give the audeince an adrenaline rush, this makes them wnat to watch the film as they want to see what happens.

Sherlock Holmes opening scene

In this opening scene from Sherlock Holmes (2009) the first thing I noticed were the titles of the institutions encarved into the pavement this makes the audience think that the film is set in a very old setting in Victorian England. The audience is also aware of the dark setting as the edges of the screen are shown to be very dark and the light appears to be from some kind of torch or lantern, this suggests that the movie is very dark and could contain a lot of dark scenes. The carriages in the scene are dark and seem to have prison bars on the door, this suggests that the film is based around some kind of crime and suggests there could be prisoners inside or there is some kind of chase going on, they also appear to be travelling very fast, conforming to the idea that this is a chase scene, as they look like they might be chasing after someone later in the clip, the carriages also suggest that the film is set in old London like in the 1800's. The costumes the police officers are wearing in the scene look very old and outdated by modern standards continuing to support the idea of old London they aslo appear to be under the command of the people in civilian clothing, as they are armed with guns,and the camera appears to focus on tehm more than the police officers, this could suggest that they are also detectives, as they appear to be wearing suits and hats like the normal people of the time and the stereotypical clothes people would think detectives would wear such as tweed jackets and bowler hats, Sherlocks costume is in constrast of what we expect from a man we know as rich and from a very upper class family, as he looks very scruffy and unorganised. The guns also suggests the film includes action sequences and presents the idea of danger into the film. The camera can be seen as using a dolly shot to chase the carriages, this helps build an idea of there speed and suggests there is a chase scene going on, they also use a dolly shot to chase the main character Sherlock down the streets, the way they use this makes the audience feel the police are after him, as he appears to be trying to get away from someone. The crow used commonly reepresents death and suggests that someone has been murdered. The non-digetic sound used in the background very swiftly changes from the main sherlock theme, which shows a kind of humour in the film with the use of an accordian to produce the sound, the sound quickly changes to fast pace sound that suggests the danger and the chase scene as it is quick and helps build the tempo of the chase, and it helps build suspense as the audience doesn't know who there chasing and why. The digetic sound caused by the guns is very action cliche as they suggest action is about to happen and it is a common why to suggest these guys are going into action.

Institution Research

There are many institutions in the world of Cinema and Media with hundreds of companies making films. Many of these institutions are very famous and commonly known to the audience. I am going to research several of these institutions and show there history and what they are currently doing and there revenue, and there success and there problems.

This is Summit entertainment they were founded originally back in 1991, by film producers Bernd Eichinger, Arnon Milchan and Andrew Vajna. This company has had a wide range of films, it has had also produced some good crime films such as Now you see me, Man on a ledge and the RED series of films. These are some similar films to the one we would like to create a crime thriller and we will be taking much inspiration from Man on a ledge for its use of editing and camera work.

 

 

Universal studios are an American movie producer created on the 30th April 1912  Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour. It is the oldest film company in America and fourth oldest in the world. Universal are famous for a large number of highly successful films like the Bourne series which was also a key inspiration behind our film as we have secrets, fast pace of editing and great music, they also produced Zero dark thirty and other thrillers like Green zone, which provided as with other ideas about what are film should have.

 

Paramount pictures was first founded in 1914 by Adolph Zukor, Daniel Frohman and Charles Frohman. It is ranked as the highest grossing film company in the world. This company is  mostly best known for there blockbuster films such as Star Trek and Mission Impossible which have some very good examples of camera work and editing as star trek makes good use of lense flare. We also believed that the Mission Impossible had good use of non-digetic sound so we really wanted to make good use of that kind of sound.

Our film institution we will use in our film will be called Last Post Productions, this is from the combination of the first letter from all our names so Luke, Ashley, Sam and Tom. It is also named after the famous song The Last Post from WWI.



In bruges opening scene

In Bruges starts with very somber music with a very dark night with church spires and a narrator speaking about what he has done, this is very dark start to the film with very little known about where it is or what has happened, the narrator appears to be some kind of killer, and of a non-English/Irish speaker which confirms the stereotype of a foreigner, normally related to crime and gangs. The camera shots have very slow editing pace adding very little tension to the clip, the cameras usually have a two-shot close up which allows the audience to see the two people in the clip have a conversation without the use of the shot reverse shot. The camera also for the first minute uses a combination a close ups, long shots, extreme long shots, High angle shots and shallow and deep focus shots this makes the audience look at what the director wants you to see and it shows the location of where the film is set. It also uses the high angle to show statues of some demons, this suggests that these characters are possibly bad people. The titles used in the opening are very plain and modern and suggest the movie is set in a modern setting while it has very little action in it. When we first see the two characters they are dressed in smart/casual with bags hanging over there shoulders this suggests that they are in Bruges for work, it also shows they might be looking for somewhere to stay first, it also suggests they are trying to fit into the local area, suggesting there criminal past. The character in the brown coat appears to have more authority then the one in the black coat this is due to the fact that he is not hiding his face like the other one and is trying to search the area and he is much taller then the other suggesting he has the power from his perspective, both characters appear to be very annoyed with each other, this suggests that this conflict could lead to trouble later in the film, it also suggests that they could be blaming each other with the job they had last. The lighting in the opening is at first very dark suggesting evil things occurred, this is then backed up by the narration. The lighting later on is very bright suggesting a change in the time and shows as the scenery in more detail then at night, also shows the audience the characters for the first time. The non-digetic sound is very sad music and suggest to the audience someone has died, the use of piano makes it similar to what they would use at a funeral.

Crime Genre Research

In our film we have decided to make a crime thriller style film based upon a couple of films and TV dramas such as Luther, The other guys, Seven and Heat. Crime thrillers usually contain several elements unique to this genre these include:

• Fast-pace, violent murder scenes to get the male audience interested and fast on foot or car chase scenes.
• The movie normally makes the audience think and question why something doesn't occur in the film or why something isn't there.
• Most crime thrillers involve a police investigation in some way and is commonly an ally of the Protagonist.
• The main protagonist is usually a cop with perhaps private problems he will have to overcome in the film. Usually faces a much smarter antagonist.
• Flashbacks are also common as they give insight into past events and giving clues to the story.
• Tension is also very important in  impacting the audience this keeps them concentrated during the film. They can use the lighting and pace of editing and sound both digetic and non-digetic sound to help build this.
• They commonly use orchestral music to help build a sound bridge in a film and this can change the feelings an audience feels.
• The antagonist is usually a secret until the ending of the film, this creates a mystery over who the antagonist is, this keeps the audience watching, to find out who it is.
• High angle shots are also used to see a wide view of the location and to see more action, the camera also commonly stays clear of the antagonists face as to make it more of a mystery.

Film Ideas

These are our film ideas, this includes everything we think should be in our opening 2 minutes, it tells you what feelings we expect you to have in most of the scenes in our film, as well as this we have the ideas on what each of the characters should be like, and what mystery's we plan to have in it, it basically explains everything we are going to do and the key plot points.  

Certificate research

The British Board of film Classification or BBFC is the organisation responsible for the censoring of all films and DVD’s. They currently use a certificating system from U to 18 this is an easy way of telling people what films are suitable for who and allows parents a reference as to what films there children can view.



This is the first Certification U this stands for Universal which means that the film is suitable for all ages and there is nothing unsuitable for children. Examples of these kind of films are Turbo and The smurfs 2.

 

 

All ages are admitted, but does contain violent scenes and can contain moderate violence and mild language and drug reference. An example of these kind of films are Wreck-it-Ralph.

 

 

 

The 12A certificate was introduced in 2002 to replace the 12 rating in cinema's only, films under this  category are considered unsuitable for viewing by young children and under age children must be accompanied by a adult over the age of 18. Films under this category can contain soft drug references some strong language and moderate violence, the films can also contain sex references. Examples of this certificate include RED 2 and Pacific Rim.

 

The 12 certificate is for DVD use only as no child under 12 can rent or buy this film.

The 15 certificate are for 15 years and older, so nobody under 15 can view or rent/buy the film. The film can contain hard drugs, frequent strong language, strong sex references and  limited sexual violence. Examples of this film are The Heat and Cloverfield

 

This film category can only be viewed by 18's and over. It contains no limitations on what language can be used hard drugs fully allowed,  explicit sex references along with detailed sexual activity are also allowed. Very strong and gory violence is permitted. Examples of this kind of film include Django Unchained and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

 

 Our film is going to be a 15 rated film as it will have strong language which will be used plus it will have significant violence.



You need to revisit your posts about film openings and make more comments on mise en scene, sound, titles, character, genre, lighting, camera work and editing. You need to evidence more of your planning - interviews with actors, schedules, storyboarding and scripting. You need to have chosen some title font to use and expalined your choices for music. You need to push yourself between now and the end of term, when all of the filming must have been done, to earn as many marks as possible.

Location ideas for opening 2 minutes

 

This is the area we want to do our filming for one of the scene, we believe this would be a good location because the bridge is in a moderatly urban and rural setting with plenty of trees and greenery to make it look rural or enough buildings to make it look urban, the bridge is also the perfect area for a murder to take place with plenty of hidden areas. The area is also not far for most people to get to being a couple of miles from where we live, it is also relatively quiet on a normal day with very little traffic after rush hour which means we will have very few people interrupting our shots. The bridge is also a similar structure to the bridge we will be investigating the murder under.

This is the bridge we plan to film under for the investigation, it has a patch of land under the bridge which allows us to have a full investigation, it also gives us a lot of room, the bridge is located a few metres away from a road which makes it a good location because it is easy to get to, the bridge also doesn't have a lot of through traffic with pedestrians unlikely to interrupt the filming.

Mood board

This is our mood board, this is made up of pictures and ideas that inspired the movie ideas.
There are several pictures of crime thrillers such as gangster squad, the bourne identity and the minority report, I used these because there is an edge of corrupt government personnel and they have a an edge of unsolved mystery. The city shows possible location ideas having the film set in an urban area as there is a lot of crime in cities, there is also a small bridge which we have decided will be the location of the murder, we thought that a bridge seems a mysterious way to die and the because there is no murder weapon for the police. We decided to have a suitcase being carried by the victim which contents will be unkown to the audience but is likely to contain secret documents and possibly money, the victim will also have a passport to suggesting mystery. We were also inspired by cop partners in many TV shows and movies such as The other guys, castle, person of interest, many have great chemistry between characters and we hope to bring some of that to our film.

Audience research for Crime films

 For research into the type of audience we would research we decided to use the films Dredd and Lawless, which are both crime films.

As you can see from theses pie charts crime films are very popular among the male audience as they are often attracted to bloody murders and very macho detectives. A majority of the audience are also young to middle aged around the 15-34 year olds, this also adds to the idea that the film is aimed at the young people with the violence, and also the movies are commonly given 15 or 18 ratings so they can have more violence. Dredd however has a lower proportion of 15-24 year olds possibly because it is a 18 rating. Also the majority of people who see these films are classified as C1 which is lower middle class, this suggests that most of these people have financial security for the near future, this would be normal as they are the most common type of person who goes to the movies, especially for the age ranges used as they are probably in the service type jobs of the lower middle class.

Preliminary Task

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmXzMJ5gZRA

 

 

This is our preliminary task, as you can see we used a number of different camera techniques including the 180 degree rule, Match on action and shot reverse shot.

Results of Questionnaire

Here are the results from our Questionnaire

 

 

It was surprising how a majority of people have more than 20 DVD's, I always thought that DVD's were too expensive to have so many, and it was very surprising to see that 40% of people had more than 50 DVD's this made me think that more people preferred to wait for the films to come out rather than actually going to see it at the cinema. It was also surprising how few people watched action films considering how much money goes into making them, and how much money they make, this could however be from a bias interview so that result could vary. However I was not surprised that the majority of people who we asked went to the cinema at least once a month, there are very few occasions during a year where more than one film comes out that interests such a wide audience.

Film Questionnaire

 This is the film Questionnaire we had to produce and ask people about to a certain what people do with the free time, what kind of films they like and what they expect from Crime/Thrillers etc.

There are several good things about this questionnaire, for instance the questions often have well designed questions not designed to confuse the reader, they also have a good age range between categories, which should cover most ages of movie going or educated age, they also have 'other' categories which helps cover for anything that has been missed out 

Features of Action films

Conventions of Action films

• Fight scenes with fast pace editing builds excitement and keeps audience on the edge of their seats.
• Explosions, usually uses multiple camera shots to build effect.
• Guns/weapons, excites a male audience and builds tension seeing characters ready weapons.
• usually a clear good guy and bad guy, with the bad guy having simple motives about why there doing something, and the good guy trying to save a love interest and save the world.
• chase scenes, builds excitement and tension, good way to show off gadgets and setting, and keeps audience on the edge of their seat.
• city or urban setting, are common as their are lots of people and places for action to take place.
• Exotic locations, provides the audience with a getaway from the real world.
• good tension building music, makes the audience excited.
• High tech gadgets

Sub-genres:

• action comedy, usually has a combination of action and humour, it was popular during the 80's and rarely involve death or injury to the protagonist, includes films like: Bad boys
• action horror, usually involves zombies includes chases and gunfights and includes movies like World war Z
• Disaster films,usually has elements of thrillers, with the main action caused by natural or artifical disasters, films like: 2012
• Martial arts, contains numerous action sequences, fast paced editing and shots, known for storytelling and character development, usually has actors who are martial arts experts. Films like: The raid:redemption
• Sci-fi action, usually has the features of a sci-fi film but there is more emphasise on the gun battles and technology. Films like: Star Trek Into Darkness
• Spy film, Usually a government agent who takes on either rival governments or terrorists, only films with frequent action sequences are considered Action while others are in the thriller genre. films include: The James Bond series
• Action Thriller, features most conventions of action films and feature a race against the clock, violence and a clear antagonist, stories often take place in limited locations such as buildings, planes and trains, and the protagonist has to use stealth to bring down the bad guys. Films include: Air Force One.
• Superhero movies, usually focuses on the origins of a superhero, who has superhuman abilities and there arch nemesis. Films like: The Avengers

Romance film conventions

• Romance films are commonly aimed at female audience because they have a lot in common with the themes in the film.
• It normally involves a boy meets girl scenario, and usually ends with a happy ending.
• They usually seperate after an argument but eventually come back together.
• Normally a comedic sidekick for the main character, sometimes in love with the main characters.
• Soft lighting used to keep the audience in touch with reality.
• Wedding bells, flowers, hearts commonly used to symbolise love.

Sub-genres of romance

• Chick flick- are films that specifically target a female audience.
• Romantic comedy- are films with light- hearted, humerous plotline, centered around the romance of a couple.
• romantic action comedies- Is a blend of romantic comedy and action.
• romantic drama- plot revolves around an obstacle preventing love between two lovers.

Features of Horror films

Conventions of Horror films

• Normally set in isolated areas at night time, as there are very few people around, and makes the victims more vulnerable.
• Low lighting effects helps build suspense and makes it harder to see everything that's going on.
• Creepy children and clowns are often used as they are usually seen as happy and playful but are instead evil killers.
• red and black are often colours used in horror films as they portray evil and blood.
• victims are usually teenagers, who are often female and killed off one at a time leaving the main protagonist alone
• Antagonists are usually not fully seen until the middle or end of a film building suspense in the audience as they do not know who the bad guy is.
• Stereotypical 'blonde' girls are often seen, they are usually killed off first and are seen as stupid.
• Many modern horror films such as Paranormal activity use found-footage camera work, to make the audience get into the movie more and make it seem more realistic.

Sub-genres of Horror:

• Slasher, usually revolves around a psychopathic serial killer, that stalks and murders his victims in very violent ways, with a lot of screen time for the murder to take place, an example of this is Halloween
• Supernatural, usually involves demons and ghosts, and a religious elements and can include gruesome violence such as in The Ring.
• Zombie, usually revolves around a group of survivors struggling to survive against hordes of zombies like in 28 days later.
• Monster, is based on the 'experiment gone wrong' or alien encounters with the main protagonist normally ending up saving the world like in Aliens
• Comedy, usually scares audiences but also has comedic elements to it, they can also spoof other horror films, like in the Scary movie series

Sinister analysis

This opening scene is very threatening and strikes fear into the audience as they are watching a family being hanged, this is a very short opening and gives the audience an idea on what the film is going to show, and it helps build tension in the film because it is clear this is not the main character being hanged, the family seems to be filmed as the digetic sound is of a film recorder, so suggests that this is being watched by someone.The background suggests this is being done in some kind of garden or in a secluded area, this is normal in a horror movie as most have the characters in secluded areas away from the rest of society. The slow pace of activity in the shot would also help in building up tension as we don't know what's going to happen to them. The fact that we view this through a recording suggest that this might not be the only murder that has occured here, it also suggests that the antagonist in this film is trying to send a warning to other people. The title is very hard to spot initially but, it is very small and in a font, that suggests the film has some kind of evil behind, also because it was hidden and the antagonist is also hidden, it suggests that the antagonist strikes from the shadows, suggesting something paranormal is going on.

The ring analysis

The opening from the ring is very dark and gloomy with very little lighting and suggests the film is set at night time which would make the audience very scared if there watching the film at night. There is also use of close ups of the girls face to show the audience her reactions to things and to show were she is looking there is also a first person shots. The movie is made scarier by the use of the TV in both the living room and bedroom as something to be scared of this is in-line with the features of many horror films as they use things that aren't meant to be scary and make them scary. There is a relatively slow pace to editing as shots are very long this could be used to build up tension in the audience and to build them up to a fast paced action scene. There is also the use of digetic sound in the scene which is used effectively as the TV crackling would make the audience think something bad was going to happen, while the women in the clip hasn't got any idea what it is and begins to blame her friend, also the TV turns itself back on after she turns it off which adds to the tension and gives us the idea that something supernatural is occurring. Near the end of the scene the pace of editing is very quick with lots of images appearing on screen and makes the audience confused as they aren't sure what just happened.

Dawn of the dead analysis

The opening is uses very fast paced editing which could have been used to show a number of things such as the fast spread of the virus and how quickly things are escalating in the world and it also raises the tension in the film and sets the audience up with what has happened in the world, as at the start it begins with not much concern but quickly escalates to panic, also the use of news clips and interviews makes the audience feel its realistic as they would watch the news everyday. Also the credits are in a blood red colour and is sprayed across the screen which suggests this could be a bloody movie, and is very suggestive of zombies as they are known for blood and being covered in it, also some the scenes have close ups of zombies but these aren't fully scene as the pace of editing denies the audience a good look at them, this makes the audience fearful as they are only teased with zombie but aren't shown anything. The upbeat music over the screaming and footage of the outbreak makes the film if anything more scarier as its eerie to see people dying but have upbeat music playing.

Black Hawk Down analysis

This opening starts with a long shot which sets the scene, in what appears to be a desert or some other exotic location, at first the pace of cuts is relatively slow with not much going on, but the music theme in the background is very threatening and suggests something bad is going to happen. The mass of people on the ground appear to be wearing very poor clothing and suggests to a location in Africa, as most people in Africa have donated clothing from charities, the soldiers appear to be well trained, with full gear on and military hair cuts, it is very common in action films for the good guy to be American and the bad guy as a foreigner. The gunfire used to kill the crowd is very common in this action film and adds to the excitement and adrenaline of the film. The film uses a lot of long shots to help establish what is going on in such a large area and it helps show what the soldiers in the helicopter are seeing, there is a medium shot of what looks like the main antagonist pretending to shoot down the american helicopter, this could show the audience his intentions and it suggests that the helicopters are under threat and they are a main piece of this film. The helicopters and soldiers in this clip suggest that this is a war film, some of conventions of these films include heroes, gunfights, ruined city streets and something to protect or capture, they can also end up with a character making the ultimate sacrifice. The arid area suggests that there could be a lot of crime in the area , which there is. The scene of desperate people trying to grab the food could help show the audience the desperate situation there in and make them feel sorry for the people who live there, the sudden massacre of these people would also make them feel scared as they were attacked so suddenly, it is used to help differentiate the Americans and the antagonists in the film, but it could be seen that the Americans are simply overseeing the massacre making them look like the antagonists, but the audience already has an idea of who the antagonists are, probably from trailers and advertising.

The other guys analysis

In this opening sequence the movie immediately conforms with what we expect in a action movie, a car chase, guns and explosions, this is a very basic thing for an action movie to have, this is quickly shown by the two cops chasing bad guys in a fast paced car chase through New York, the pace of editing from one shot to the next helps build excitement, while the non-digetic music in the background is more relaxing and suggests this is a routine for the cops, this is also shown by the joking around they do while there chasing the bad guys. The cops are dressed in very macho clothing designed to show they are very tough and there the cool guys, even there guns are not mainstream as they use revolvers which are thought of as very cool and retro. The bad guys on the other hand are seen as Caribbean black and wear clothes that relates to that culture, this would fight with the stereotype that black people are more likely to commit a crime then a white person. the camera with the flight path of the bullet shows the intricate detail in the camera and adds to the excitement of the car battle, the explosion at the end is very random but it makes an audience want to continue watching the film. The lighting in this is very bright, making it very easy to see the faces of the characters, it could also suggest this film has a more action theme, as most action films take place during daylight (Die hard 4.0).

The Rock analysis

 

In this opening the music in the background is very military like and very formal, this is then swiftly interrupted by non-digetic sound made by what appears to be a flashback of some kind of fight, in the past, this would suggest to the audience that this film could be about getting revenge on someone and it suggests that the main antagonist on screen is doing this in memory of them. The costume the man and soldiers are wearing are very formal military uniforms meant for special ceremonies, this would suggest that it is very important and they are showing there respect to fallen comrades, also the main antagonist seems to be more important then the other soldiers because he has more medals placed on his uniform and suggests he is very experienced. The rain in the background adds to the idea of a funeral and a grave yard as in most movies it is mostly raining when there is a graveyard, it also creates a sad atmosphere that makes the audience want to like the antagonist. On the grave the name shows the audience that it is his wife that is dead, and adds to the idea of revenge being a common theme in the movie. General Hummel believes that he needs forgiveness form his wife for him to continue with his plan. The fact that it is raining also suggests that there has been some kind of tragic lose, it can also suggest that there is a sense of revenge in the film, this could make the audience feel sad with the lose of a life and make them feel sorry for the General, despite the fact that he is a antagonist.

Continuity editing

Match on Action

 

Match on action or cutting on action is used to continue a scene, it is where one shot cuts to another shot while showing the same action that was in the first shot, so if a ball is thrown by a person the first shot would show the ball being thrwon and the second shot would be showing the ball continue being thrown the moment the first shot ended, to show continuity between the two shots. This draws the audience attention away from continuity errors, it isn't similar to graphic match as it provides the same sense of the same action.

 

180 degree rule 

 

The 180 degree rule is a guideline that camera editers use to show the sense of relationship between two characters, an imaginary line called the axis connects two characters and keeps the camera on one side of the conversation,it can also give the audience a greater idea of what is in the surroundings. If a camera passes over this line it is called jumping the line or crossing the line, this enables the audience to the movement happening around the character, this for example could be used in important narration of battle scenes.

 



Shot Reverse Shot

 

Is a technique commonly used in conversations, or when two characters are looking at each other, for example one shot would show a character talking to another using either over the shoulder or point of view shot, this would then be followed by a reverse angle shot to show the other characters perspective looking back at them. This type of shot would often tie in with the 180 degree rule, by its continuity of shot, it also provides the audience with little change of location so they aren't disorientated.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 









Research and Planning Targets

Well done Tom - a very nice start to your research and planning. You need to evidence your initial ideas and you need to blog regularly. You need to embed some tutorials for the basics and comment on them. Have a look at what students in your class have done to see where you should be by now, but don't copy and paste their words! For your analysis of opening two minutes make sure you comment on the following things to show a broad understanding and appreciation: Target Audience Narrative Characters Use of titles Pace of editing Mise en Scene Camera Composition Use of sound Genre conventions A really good start - you now need to begin to evidence detailed planning for your production, which needs to be detailed and thorough.

Lord of War opening scene analysis

The lord of war intro is very interesting as it starts of with Nicolas cage explaining how many guns there are but then says that there needs to be more, this would make an audience feel very uneasy about this character as they are unsure whether he is a good guy or a bad guy, the camera angle shown is a low angle shot which gives him all the power, and suggests he is the most important man, it then changes to a close up and he directly speaks to the audience this would be a weird thing for the audience to see as they are rarely spoken to directly by the character and it suggests he is trying to tell them something or advertise the production and usage of guns in the real world. After he is done speaking the music begins in a very relaxing way showing the journey a bullet goes through in its life, this is very odd as the relaxing music is not what we would expect as an audience to this kind of film and the camera perspective is of the bullet itself so it gives the audience the idea of what bullet manufacturing is like, the music is in the background possibly to add contrast to the very grim deals going on in front of the bullet, and the dark world of the African Civil wars. The journey could also be used to tell the audience that this film will include action as there are fighting scenes in the last few seconds of the opening, and it gives the audience the idea of what the film is about, weapon dealing, as the bullet travels through multiple hands it suggests there are lots of exotic locations used especially Africa, this is also backed by the extreme poverty and the exotic plants also help to suggest that this film is based in Africa. The clothing Nicolas Cages character is wearing is very expensive this juxtaposes with the bullets and violence around him and suggests he is selling violence and chaos. The costumes also in the clip suggests the bullets are traveling across the world with clothes ranging from Russian Army uniforms to the rugged clothing worn by African fighters. This also suggests that htis film will have multiple locations. The titles are used between shots when the screen goes black, this could be so that the audience doesn't get distracted from the footage being used, it also lets the audience read who was involved in the making of the film, as it stands out on the black background. The general theme in this film is weapons, Guns and the effect they have on the War-torn countries they arrive in, this indicates the film fits into the conventions of crime/war film as there is the theme of war in this clip and the main character is involved in crimes during war-time.