Inspirational Music

James Bond chase scene music is more serious than other types of chase scene music, the Italian Job chase scene music is different and is effective in a different way to James Bond. We will get an idea of what music to use from these different films.

Terminator 2- Opening 2 minutes

We watched the opening few minutes of Terminator 2, we had to analyse it in as much detail possible and make notes on the camera shots, sound, editing and mise-en-scene and how effective it is in making the opening sequence seem realistic and look good and suit the genre well.
This is an analysis of Terminator 2 in as much detail as i could do.

It starts with a Long shot of busy roads with lots of cars driving past, we focus on the cars for awhile and also at the same time the producers appear in the center of the screen with a simple font and the colour was white. We then see a mid shot of the backs of the cars and people walking around them. People are passing in front of the camera as if it does no exist and to make the shot seem realistic, the sound used is non-digetic, it sounds very sincere and tense it is also very slow and makes the audience feel insecure. It then cuts to a shot of a girl who is on a swing, she is center of the screen and we focus on her for awhile, this shot is a medium shot so we can see some more children playing in the park around her which shows that it is still a very busy location, it also makes it seem more realistic again like it is everyday life. The girl is also laughing enjoying herself, As she swings back and forth on the swing we follow her movement so we feel part of this shot. More titles then appear the same font in the center of the frame producers, directors. We then see the girl swinging backwards and forwards again without titles. The sound builds up to add tension as it gets louder and louder, the sound effects of the laughter changes, instead of sounding happy like at first it now sounds echoed and unsettling, it makes the audience feel uneasy and uncomfortable as the laughter becomes more scary and tense. The image of her swinging then becomes slow motion as the music and her laughter builds up like a crescendo, the image fades like it is being saturated into the light, The girl on the swing throws her head back which looks very spooky and dangerous as she is up in the air her body is covered in white like she has been lost in the white sheet. The music then builds up one last time loud and tense and then there is silence, the girl disappeared and the music stopped. The next shot is a mid shot of a car in darkness (possibly a car from the start). Everything is dark dead and burned. The car is melted with a human body sitting in the driver seat, there is a slight wind sound which sends chills down your spine but still makes the atmosphere silent/dead. Titles appear to show that the time has changed. The camera then moves sideways to reveal more around the first image and looks like the scene that once was a busy road. It is deserted and everything is burnt trees, cars and people. It then fades and moves on to another image abit further along, it shows a long distance of the scene and we see more cars and skeletons in the background. We then have a shot of the playground that we had seen afew shots ago but it looked completely different. The sudden change in colour from the bright white light to the dark blue navy dull colour shows the contrast in the colours and how colours can change the feel of the film. There is non-digetic talking (Narration) of a woman's voice, it is not welcoming or a happy toned voice, it is dull and spooky which adds the tension of the film, she tells the audience about what has happened in the past and tells more about the meaning of the film. The music starts quiet and is very slow and sounds like music to fit the word misery, this goes with the sad low woman's voice, the music and narration then stops, back to silence. We then come across some skulls on a row on the floor from the playground, we then focus on this one skull (close up shot) which could be the girl from the beginning on the swing. Then we have a very effective bit of sound over silence which makes the audience jump out of there skin as a mechanical foot stamps on the skull we are focusing on and makes a loud crush/thump sound, the music then starts again to add to the tension. We then have a moving up shot of the foot on the skull up the body and we see the robotic face and in the background we can see lights. The fighting between the people and mechanical people then starts, with lights coming from the guns and sound effects of the futuristic guns. The sound effects are very robotic. There is uneasy droning music that makes the audience engage in the fighting more. Special effects are used which are the fighting, shooting, lights and fire. We then have a range of different faster paced shots of them fighting such as close up, medium and long shots. There are some of the burnt cars being thrown about, the thought that this was once a busy place with happy everyday people buzzing around and now that it is a graveyard and now a battlefield adds to the action of the film and the misery. There is another voice over and the music gets louder and drums kick in, the image then fades to fire and the titles start again, we see the main actors name and then the name of film appears right in the center of the screen and does not come off, it just zooms out until it disappears of the screen, meanwhile at the same time the other actors and actresses appear on the screen with the white simple font. We then see afew shots of the playground at different angles which is in flames.


There are not many camera shots in this opening sequence but there are lots of use of effective sound and special effects which make this opening sequence very good. We will not be able to have special effects to make our opening sequence look professional but we can be creative with what we can do.
Overall, I think this is a very good opening sequence and will help us with our own one. This is very similar in genre as it is Action/Science Fiction. If we make our shots effectively and look good for the action genre we can achieve making our opening sequence realistic.

Our Target Audience

We will have to have a target audience for our opening sequence, to find out more about what people would like to see and what they would expect we will do a questionnaire.

Our basic target audience will be for 12+ but we will aim it more at adults.

What people expect to see in an action film-

• Chase Scenes
• Explosions
• Guns and Weapons
• A villian
• A good guy
• Fighting
• A girl/friend etc

Media Work Diary

7th December

Today we thought about the components to our opening sequence. We looked at Sound effects and the importance of this in our piece, We looked at how we could do it and what we will need to do.

Sound Effects

In our Action Opening Sequence we will need to use Sound effects as they are very important to make our piece more realsitic. We will use sound effects that we can make ourselves such as breathing and leaves crunching but we will also need sound effects that we cannot make, such as a gun shot.

As most of our opening sequence is a chase scene there will be heavy breathing as they a tired, it adds to fast paced feel. We will need to make it sound right though or it will completely change how the film sounds, We will record afew clips of heavy breathing and see what one fits to our piece. The crunching sound of the leaves and running through the mud will be easy to do as it will be there as background sound.
The only sound effect we will need to find and cannot do ourselves is the gunshot, we will have to search for some on the internet to find one that fits our piece.

Another sound we may have is conversation, we will only add this if there is enough time and it fits well, we will have to make it sound really good as this can also change the mood of the genre if it does not sound right, we will have to make it sound very serious.

The last sound we are having is music, as this also is very important to our work, we will need it to be fast paced and fit with the running as it is a chase scene, it needs to be not scary but edgy and fast paced to fit an action film. We will have to watch some chase scenes from films and see what type of music they have to fit there chase scene, this is also very important because it makes it less boring to watch and helps the audience want to watch the rest of the film, the opening sequence is one of the most important parts to a film.

Possible Script for our opening sequence

This is a possible script we may have in our opening sequence, if we are going to add this to our opening sequence we will have to make it sound good and seem serious otherwise it will completely change the mood of the film.

This is our script:

(Speaking into blue tooth headset)
Lewis: I'm after him, bring the van.
Voice Over: Ok


Simon and Lewis conversation

Lewis: Where is he?
Simon: I know nothing about him
Lewis: You do.
Simon: Even if i did, do you expect me to talk.
Lewis: Well your no use to me
BANG

Media Work Diary

4th December

Today we all looked at our research and planning so far and looked at the levels to see what we think we are achieving, it helped us know what needs to be done and how we can do it. We also wrote out our Order of shots. This was a rough idea of what shots we would like to have and when abouts we would liek to have them.

Problems that may occur

There are many problems that may occur when filming and editing our work. As we are filming our piece outside we could have problems with the weather and it could get very muddy. As it will be December, January and February time it also gets dark early so we will have to film very quickly. We also have to have loads of shots in our piece as it is an action film and we have to make it look fast and effective. Trying to find music to fit our piece could be difficult. Also getting the shots to look effective.

Order Of Shots

This is the order of our shots we would like to do so far:

• Medium-Low Angle shot covered with half a tree on the right, we see Simon run past and then Lewis just behind.


• We then have an over the shoulder shot from Lewis running after Simon (So we are looking at Simons back


• We then have a medium/long shot of Simon and Lewis running


• We then have a more distant shot of them both running from behind


• We then see Simon chuck his bag


• We then have a close up of the bag on the floor in the bush and see Lewis feet run past


• We then see them running again (Think of a different shot)


• We then have a shot to see Simon turning round to see where Lewis is


• We then have an establishing shot of the lake and a Long distance of Simon standing by the lake.


• We have a shot of Simon who is turning clockwise and the camera is turning anti-clockwise


• We have a point of view shot from Lewis in the bush looking at Simon and see Simon running and throwing the piece of paper in the lake


• We then have a close up of the paper in the lake


• We then go back to Simon and have a close up of his head as he hears a click


• And then we have a medium shot of a gun to Simons head


• Screen goes black and we hear a gun shot as the title appears

Research and Planning Evaluation

I think my work so far on research and planning is not basic, I have a good amount of work and have included, research on similar products of the genre, I have started looking at actors, costume, location and props. I have given myself 12/2o which is a low level 3.

Props

For our action opening sequence we will need props as they are important part to our opening seqeunce. We will need:

• Piece of paper


• Knife/Gun?


• Rucksack


• Rope


• A Van?

Music Ideas

We will have to find music that suits our genre.
It will have to be fast paced and suit how Lewis adn Simon are running otherwise it will look odd.

Action films check list

• Fast music
• Guns
• Weapons
• Physical Violence
• Fights
• Chase scenes
• Quick shots
• A main character and people who are against him
• Tight Editing
• Flashbacks

Opening two minutes of Bourne Supremacy

We watched the opening 2 minutes of the Bourne Supremacy. In the two minutes flashbakcs of teh first one appeared to remind the audience of what happened in the first film, as this was happening fast music was playing in the background to add tension and keep the audience interested. Also while this is happening we see the names of the actors appearing on the screen, to make the flashback images look quick there is fast editing and quick shots which are blurry to create mystery which will be unfolded later on in the film. Lots of different camera shots are used in the flashbacks but mostly point of view as we are seeing it from Jason Bourne's eyes. We then see him waking up in bed so he must of been dreaming his flashbacks. We follow him to the bathroom and his girlfriend wakes up and asks him if he is ok and that is two minutes. This was discluding the producers at the beggining.

This will help us think of time management and figure out how many shots there are in two minutes of an opening sequence. We do not want to film it all and only have a minutes worth. Bourne Supremacy is an action film that uses physical violence, quick shots and fast paced music to keep the audience entertained.

Media Work Diary

2nd December 09

Amy and Lewis watched Action films and what they have in the opening 2 minutes

Images from other Action films

Media Work Diary

1st December 09

• Amy- I decided on a location for the filming. I also helped choose the idea of the characters
• Lewis- Lewis has decided on the full film story and helped with the characters
• Simon- Simon chose ideas for our opening 2 minutes and what to put in it and helped with the characters
• We all added ideas to the opening sequence to develop and improve our idea, we also chose who will be in it and how will we do it.

Our Idea 2 for Action

This is a rough idea of what we would like to do for our final piece

• Black Screen and faced paced music starts
• Simon runs past the camera
• Lewis then runs past and follows
• We follow them in the woods
• Simon chucks his bag in the woods
• Lewis runs straight past after Simon (Chase scene)
• We then have more shots of them running
• Simon reaches the lake and looks around for Lewis
• Lewis is behind and watching queitly
• A twig snaps from one side of Simon and Lewis jumps out and grabs Simon
• They have a fight for afew seconds on the floor
• Simon chucks the piece of paper Lewis needs and wants into the lake so its gone forever
• Lewis is angry and grabs Simon
• On his bluetooth headset speaks to the person on the other side helping him and says we have got him (Something along those lines)
• Lewis takes (drags) Simon as he is the stronger person and takes him to the van that is parked on the side of the road.
• The man helping Lewis (Andrew) helps throws Simon into the back of the van to take them back to the place he is wanted.

We would like the location for this in Oxshott woods as it is a very good location for our work.

Preliminary Task- Better quality and backup

This is the second upload of our preliminary task in better quality.

Character Profiles

Lewis

• Lewis' character is called Daniel Smith a.k.a 'Bone'
• He is 32 years old
• 6'4 and weighs 12 stone

Simon

• Simon's character is unknown, we know that he is a terrorist but do not know his name
• He is 5'2
• Age unknown
• Simon's character is suspicious

The character profiles are important to our opening sequence because it gives our group an idea of how to present them and make them look when we are filming.

Costume Ideas

These are possible costumes for our characters, we do not know if we are having all of the characters in the paragraph but this is a rough idea. For our Action opening sequence costume will play an important part to tell the audience what sort of characters they are in a short space of time. Our main character is Lewis who is the chaser and will be wearing casual clothes as he is the chaser and is meant to blend in with the people around him, our second main important character is Simon who will be wearing very smart clothes as he is an important character. Amy and Alex are less important characters as they are not in the whole film as much but are needed for the opening two minutes. Amy is Simon's personal assistant who will also dress smart. Alex is the enemy and will be wearing casual/smart clothes, this shows that he did not expect to be chased.

Actors in Action films

Here is a list of actors who star in Action Films

• Harrison Ford (Star Wars and Indiana Jones)
• Daniel Craig (James Bond and Defiance)
• Mel Gibson
• Matt Damon (Bourne Films)
• Johnny Depp
• Orlando Bloom
• Sylvester Stalone
• Arnold Schwarzenegger

Different Types of Action Films

There are afew types of Action films. Such as Action, Action Comedy, Action films that take place in one scene, Animation action and heroic and gore action.

Action- This is the main type, which tells a story using more physical stuff than dialogue. eg, Terminator

Action Comedy- This involves Action and Comedy, in the action scenes they are more humourous than violent and rarely the characters die. Such as Charlies Angles and Rush Hour.

Female Protagonist- This action type is action but a female lead instead such as Lara Croft.

Genre Action

Action

Action in films is very popular because they keep you on the edge of your seat and are very interesting to a range of audiences. The story is more told and shown through physical action and faced paced music rather than dialogue. It also involves a hero and a "bad guy".

The Genre Action is also linked to horror and thriller.

List of different types of Action Films:

• Charlie's Angles
• James Bond
• Bourne films
• Die Hard
• Matrix
• Terminator
• Shooter
• X-Men
• Fast and Furious
• Rush Hour
• Transporter
• Hellboy
• Batman
• Rambo

Other Images

Images of Location

These are images of the location we would like to film our piece, it is down the road from where i live and is a good location for our filming, It suits the genre well as there is plenty of space to run and film in different parts of the woods, When it is nearly dark it will look very effective and help add tension for our filming. These are images I have copied from Google Maps, I will go to the loaction to take some pictures of the scene to show the different parts of the woods.

Location Ideas

These are some lookalike ideas for our opening sequence.

We would like to film it at dusk, just before it gets dark so you can still see but it adds to the tension.

Action Films

Action films.

Examples of chase scenes

This is an example of a car chase scene.

Another example of a chase scene

James Bond Trailer- Genre Action

We have added this trailer to our blogs because it is the same genre as our film, it has quick images and fast paced editing to show the action.

Film Institute

We have chosen this producer for our opening title sequence as it is short and fits well to the film. It will give us more footage of our filming aswell. They make big films which include some Action. Overall, I think that this is the best one for our piece.

Film Treatment- Full film

We will film the start of the film with a lot of action, we will do this because it will draw in the audience with lots of short sharp shots and with music that fits into the film which we will find when all the filming is finished, they will also want to know what is going to happen after.After the very quick start, we start to learn more about the past of both of the two characters and what they have done in the past and the problems they have had and what they have done to overcome them and how each affects them now e.g. one may have a problem like wife leaves him for another man and this makes him a very frustrated person and unable to trust anyone. We then learn the plot of what is happening, we learn who they are looking for and why (prime minister has been kidnapped and is being held.) The "bad guys" want £5,000,000 and for everyday that they don't get it, they order a terror attack to happen around the country and if they don't get anything in 30 days they say they will kill the prime minister. After three days they bomb Buckingham palace, House of commons and Heathrow airport and they agree to meet with the money and track him to the warehouse that they are keeping him, they bust trying to save the prime minister before another day comes. They under estimate how many men they have in the warehouse and mange to get the prime minister to a new secret location and they punish them by setting out to destroy everything.At the end they manage to save the prime minister and kill the leader of the "bad guys" just before the country is about to go into absolute chaos, after millions of pounds is lost in damages and the two main people that were mentioned at the start were considered heroes and the saviours of England.

Film Treatment-Opening 2 minutes

Opening 2 minutesWe are going to start our opening 2 minutes, with a low angle shot in a forest by the bottom of a tree. Then we see the first character running past, who is closely followed by the second character, they are both males one will be the good guy and the other will be the bad guy. The shots will be quick to show speed and intensity and also there will be a fast soundtrack over the top, which will engage the audicence and make them interested. They then have a scrap on the floor and the second character pulls out a weapon and then takes him to their office. We may use a sound bridge to make it flow from the forest to the office block. We will use either cars outside, a phone ringing or men shouting. Inside the office block we see the man who is tied to a chair, and out of him. The main guy who is in charge will be in a suit so will be shown as very powerful, with lots of low angle shots. We then hear that they have captured him because he knows where someone is, that they are looking for and at the end we find out that the guy they captured has secretly eaten poison and has died so they have no leads anymore.It is set at dusk, so there is little light. The characters are wearing (one tracksuit, other maybe suit.) Shows which characters are in charge. Props are a chair, rope, weapon (Gun-fake), make up and fake blood to create a beaten up effect.Set in a local woods.We will use a non copyright fast paced music.

Second Idea- Genre Action

As I could not find people to be in my romantic comedy, I am doing an Action film as it would be easier and more types of shots can be added.
Lewis, Simon and Me are going to look at action films and analyse them.
We are also looking at chase scenes and images suitable for our Action film.

Images for Location Ideas

This is my house and the park behind my house. These are the locations for my filming.

Working Title Productions

Working Title is a British film production company. It produces feature films and television productions. It is owned by Universal Pictures which distribute its films. Films from Working Title:

• Four Weddings and a Funeral
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• High Fidelity
• Atonement
  
  
  
  

This suits the type of film I am going to make because they produce lots of Romantic Comedy's and this is my genre

It appeals to American and British audiences. Working Title was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe.

Some Working Title Films

Richard Curtis wrote quite afew Romantic Comedy's, He then became well known and became a Director. He directed the films Love Actually and The Boat that Rocked.

Rodeo Productions- Our Title Sequence

Romantic Comedy

We looked at a few Romantic Comedy opening sequences, we have already looked at Notting Hill and Definitely Maybe.

Love Actually- This is a romantic Comedy. This film tells a few stories in one film but they all link in some way. It starts by showing the producers (Universal Pictures and Studio Canal) and then the main producers (Working Title), who it associcates with ( DNA Films). We then see lots of people hugging at the airport. Lots of different camera shots were used to show all the events happening, Non digetic sound was used to hear Hugh Grants narrating. We could tell this is a romantic comedy because we see people hugging and kissing at the airport, Hugh Grant is also talking about love. There is very slow editing as we are meant to focus on the story and whats happening.

While You Were Sleeping- This film is about a woman who is alone and the only thing she has to come home to is her cat, over Christmas she is asked to work over time at the train station she works at and one day when she is working a man comes past and gets pushed onto the train tracks and she saves him. It starts with following a train track as it is an important part to the film, The actors, actresses, producers, film name and directors are shown when we are following the track and then we have an establishing shot of the city its set in.

How they meet in Romanic Comedys

In Romantic Comedy's the main couple in the story meet in different ways for most films, whether it is they bump into each other, its by accident, its very unlikely, they fall over and silly incidents in everyday life.
In 101 Dalmations the couple meet through the dogs, which is a good film to use as an example because it is similar to my first idea. The two main male and female characters are walking there dogs and the dogs meet each other and bring the couple together.
In Notting Hill the characters meet when the woman walks into the mans bookshop and over time they fall in love.
In How to lose a guy in 10 days they meet at a party

Ideas For My Film Opening Sequence- Film Treatment (Opening 2 minutes)

One of our first ideas is a romantic comedy. Our idea is set in the park, the female is walking her dog in the park and a group of boys are playing football, there is happy music playing in the background as she walks around the park and they are playing football, the ball then accidently gets kicked into her face and she goes flying to the floor. The music stops as she gets hit.
Props-A dog, a football.
Costume- Football kit/ Tracksuit. Casual Dog walking clothes
Sound- Happy upbeat music
Sound Effects- Ball hitting face or Dog Barking
Location and Scene- Park, House
Editing- Slow paced editing to focus on story

Script-
Starts with a black screen and the happy music plays in the background(Non digetic sound) the producers appear and then the film name actors and actresses and then the director. We then see shots showing both stories happening at the same time ( Girl at home getting ready to take dog for a walk and seeing her in her house and Boy playing football in park with his friends) We see the girl walk out her house and towards the park in a good mood, then we see boy playing football and having fun with friends. She reaches the park and starts walking round, we have an establishing shot of the park and see all the people. The dog runs faster and pulls her towards were they are playing football as she gets closer the ball hits her in the face we see her fall to the floor and says Ouch. Boy who kicked it runs over to see if she is ok and they start talking.
(Approx 2 mins)

Camera Angles- Equal Angles to show that the characters in the story are equal.

I think are idea and the romantic comedy will be a good idea for us as it will be different from other genres people will choose. There is plenty of music to find to fit with the genre as the theme of music is very popular, location and setting will be easy.

More Title Sequences

I looked at different Genre title sequences to help me understand and give me inspiration to my own title sequence, I have looked at Horror/Thriller, Science Fiction and Romantic Comedy.
Another title sequence I looked at was Night at the Museum 2 the Genre of this film is comedy and is aimed at families.

• Producers
• Actors and Actresses
• Film Name
• Music
• Make Up
• Etc
• Director

In the title sequence for this film we see a key event that happens in the film, it shows us all the exhibits being packed away. Which is very important to the film because thats what it is about.

Media Language

A list of media language

• Lighting- Film Noir
• Colour- Dark and Light, used to draw attention.
• Sound- Effects, Voice, Music
• Camera Angles- Moving around, tilted/canted
• Camera Shots- Where its taken from, Long Distance, Short, Close Up, Point of View etc
• Costume and Props- Time period, personality
• Setting- The scene, time where it is
• Editing- Key part for putting everything together, flow.
• Script- Words and story, role.

The Maltese Falcon Bullet points

• Big bold title


• Close up on falcon


• Establishing shot of city


• Setting, looking into office


• Converstaion shots used- Two shot,close up, Medium shot


• Does not break the 180 degree rule

To do checklist- Research and planning

• Film Treatment
• Storyboard opening scene
• Photos of locations
• Photos of costumes and actors
• Mindmap of different ideas
• Powerpoint Presentation
• Questionairre
• Actors and Scene
• Recearch other blogs
• Music-Upload videos and ideas
• Script
• Other opening of 2 minute films
• Shot types
• Practice films
• Props

Title Sequence- Juno

Juno is about a teenage girl who has got pregnant by one of her friends.
The genre of this film is Comedy but could be a Rom Com.

• Happy/Funny music to create a feel good theme.


• The title sequence for this film is that it uses sketchy drawings half way between animantion and real life and we see Juno walking down the street drinking a bottle of Sunny D. The music goes really well with the images shown as it keeps you interested.


• The actors and title of the film are shown in the same way Juno is drawn walking down the street.


• This is a very different title sequence but looks good and works well for the film.

Opening Title of Films-Horror/Thriller

One of the first genre's we are looking at is Horror. We watched the beginning of Scream and made notes on the Sound, shots, titles used in the first few minutes of the film.

• In the title sequence the producers (eg.Dimension films for scream) is shown, some producers do a certain genre of film.


• It starts with eerie music to set the mood of the film, and Non-Digetic sound of screams which engages the audience right from the start


• There is a black screen for suspense and then the title SCREAM appears in the centre which makes the title our main focus, the writing has blood around it which fits the horror genre well.


• Sound Effects-We then hear more sound effects of the phone ringing, we have a close up on the object which shows the audience this will play an important prop in the film.


• We then see an establishing shot of the house with trees surrounding around so we know the house is not on a busy road and could be in the middle of nowhere. We can also see that it is night which helps set the horror genre. We can also hear crickets in the background that symbols silence so where she is is very quiet.


• She is alone in the house.


• The phone rings again and the girl who is home alone answers and there is a creepy voice down the other end, the man starts having a conversation with the girl and starts asking personal questions. She hangs up and we hear the popcorn in the background popping, this is a very unsettling sound and makes people very umcomfortbale.


• The phone rings and she answers again and they have another long conversation, she is the typical victim and her "attacker" is drawing her in to his plan.


• A point of view shot is used to see outside her house, the attacker starts to threaten the girl and sound is used to create tension.

Another film which has a simliar genre is Se7en, a thriller. In the start of this film lots of flashing images of horrible things are shown to make the audience feel uneasy, we see images of a man crossing peoples eyes and faces out and then him slicing his own fingers so he has not got a finger print and then later we see them bandaged up. We also hear tense music which creates a horrible atmosphere to the film. We can also hear a heartbeat which is very commonly used in horror/thriller films to create an uncomfortable feeling.

Things you will see in a title sequence.

• Production company and Logo


• Actors/Actresses


• Title of Film


• Casting


• Music

Preliminary Task-What have we learned?

What have we learned about technology from the process of constructing this process?

I have learned that the easiest thing for us is the filming, we were good at using the camera and stands and held the camera steady. The thing that we found hard to do was the uploading, the editing was good. The sound was a problem though. Its hard to get the sound loud enough of quiet enough and we needed to learn how to fade it out.


Preliminary Task- Class Evaluation.

• Continuity comes with editing
• Shoot double footage so have more to work with
• Sound problems- Inconsistent sound, fading music in and out difficult
• Variety of camera shots
• Think about actors
• Costume and make up
• Tightly editied

Preliminary Task-The Question

For our preliminary task we had to film a 2 minute clip or under with a conversation in it, we had to use different shots and show that we could use the cameras and equipment.
Conversation:
Alex:Did you get it?
(Lewis shakes his head)
Alex:(Sighs) Go get it.

We used lighting, camera angles and sound to create and eerie scene.
The start of the scene is Lewis walking down the corridor (eerie music plays in the background all through the scenes) he turns to walk out the door and the clip changes we then see him meeting Alex in the center of the scene the camera is behind a tree so it looks like someone is watching. We then have a medium shot of there conversation and the music fades out. We dont
see Lewis' face all through our film. They walk away and then the clip changes to see Lewis walking to a door the clip changes again so its tight and works well. We have used quick shots and made the editing quick and flow. Lewis then pushes the door open and I am standing there on my phone ignoring the fact that Lewis is there until he walks past then I look at him as he walks past like he is suspicious. We then see Lewis walking up the stairs from above so it looks like a CCTV camera. After he has passed the stairs the clip changes and we see Lewis walking to a room and see his body. Then we see Lewis' feet in different shots and his hand go for the door. The clip finishes with the music stopping as the door shuts. Overall i think we have used camera shots and music to create a mysterious/Suspicious theme.
Lewis is our main character with Alex and Amy as background characters.
Directors Amy and Simon.

The Question

Goodfellas

Definitely Maybe

Children of Men Trailer

Preliminary Task

For our preliminary task we filmed Lewis walking through the school with his hood up, it was nearly a gangster theme but in the footage we have there was no theme given away properly, we hid the theme to remain it a mystery. We used lots of different shots to create our clip, for example Long Shot, Medium Shot, Close Up, Point of View and Extreme Close Up. We have improved from our practice task by making the shots better and making the editing quick. Something that has not worked in the clip was the conversation, we could improve by making it flow better. We will practice filming other short clips to improve for our next task.

Film Openings

The purpose of this task was to watch a film opening from different Genre's and write down the purpose of the opening sequence and how the purpose was achieved through the media language.

1. Children of men- The Genre of this film is science fiction, we know it is science fiction because it is set in the future we know this because the year it is, is mentioned and very modern technology is used, the computers look more high tech than the computers we have present day, there are also moving animated adverts on the sides of buses which shows us that the film is set in the near future. The purpose of the opening sequence is to show the audience the base of what the story is going to be about, it tells us what is happening around the time which is that humans are now infertile and the youngest person on earth has just died, we can see that everyone is upset over this because he at 18 years old was the youngest person and had just died, all the news was about him. The purpose is also to show us that it is in the future. It also gives us a clue to what is going to happen in the film and it shows who are main character is, it shows us that he is not so bothered about the boy's death which can tell us alot about him, he doesnt care too much about what is happening around or he is hiding his emotion. Most of the women are weeping and are very upset over the death and the men dont show any of that at all. Another purpose of the opening sequence is to show the audience where it is set, it is London it shows well known buildings and some new, the red double decker buses also hint that it is London. On the news it says that Britain soldiers on while the world around them has fallen apart, this tells the audience that Britain is a strong country in the world at the moment. The purpose of the opening sequence is achieved through the media language by setting the scene and location, The camera gives us a view of the surroundings so we know where it is set. A handheld camera is used to follow our main character (hero) to show the audience a sense of action and we are meant to be following him in the story. Sound effects are used to emphasise the explosion in the street, after the explosion there is a ringing in your ears like you have just been stunned by the explosion. Editing is used to show the title after the explosion which works well together and it looks good. The use of lighting is used to show London is a dark place which tells us that there is problems and misery. Non-Digetic sound is used on a black screen to show us the voice over on the news, it tells the audience this is very important information we need to listen to.


2. Notting Hill- The Genre in Notting Hill is romantic comedy, we can tell that it is a romantic comedy because our main male character, Hugh Grant starts by making afew jokes with the audience when he talks about where he lives. We also know it is a romantic comedy because when we see our main female character (Julia Roberts) romantic music plays in the background and she is shown in slow motion like she is in the spotlight and we are meant to be watching this character. The purpose of the opening sequence is to show the audience and viewers the main characters in the story, It gives the audience a rough idea of what is going to happen in the story, we find out that Julia Roberts is a well known actress and Hugh Grant is a normal guy who lives in Notting Hill, it also shows us the contrast in there lives. We can tell that it is modern day by the setting and how all the characters look, also we can tell by some of the jokes and what is shown in the opening minutes eg. An everyday market selling normal everyday things. The purpose of the opening sequence is achieved through media language by using a romantic song to set the mood of the film. Hugh Grant one of the main characters narrates the story non-digetic sound is used as we see him walking through his town. We follow him down the street from a high angle/Birds eye view shot, so we can see the the town Notting Hill. When we are looking at Julia Roberts there are lots of close ups used and slow transitions like it flows, she is positioned in the center of the screen like she is the main focus.


3. Definitely, Maybe- The genre of this film is another romantic comedy, we can tell this because this film also starts with our main character (Ryan Reynolds) starting with afew jokes and he talks about happily ever after which tells us its about romance. It is very lighthearted and uses funny images in a monatge style. The purpose of the opening sequence is to tell the audience about his life who he is and what he does, he explains to the audience what is happeing in his life and who is in his life, we find out that he is having divorce and he has a daughter. The purpose of the opening sequence is achieved through the media language by using the montage images to show the setting and location, the location is New York, we can tell it is New York because there are yellow taxi's and buldings from New York, we can also tell that he is a normal man because he is walking through the park to get his daughter from school and there are normal things happening like dog walking, kids playing and busy roads. We see all the images from different angles to give us a view of everything. We also see things from his point of view. The happy music tells the audience that it is a happy upbeat film.


4. Goodfella's- The Genre of this film is Gangster/Action film, we can tell this from the opening sequence because one of our characters in the film says "i always wanted to be a gangster". We can also tell by the driving, they dont care about the rules and dont care if they are swerving on the roads, the car they are in is black which hints to the audience to symbol they are not good people. In the opening few minutes there is fighting, blood and swearing which tells the audience it is going to be a Gangster film. The purpose of the opening tells the audience the setting because it tells us it is New York and in the past. It also shows us the characters and who are main is going to be, the driver. In the background there are two other characters who are important but not our main. We see violence when one man stabs a man in the boot afew times without even caring which tells the audience not to sympathise with these characters. The two characters who are not our main shoot and stab the man in the boot and are the ones doing the violence which shows the audience maybe to sympathise with the main character. It is night time and is dark and the characters seem to be in the middle of no where. The purpose of the opening sequence is achieved through the media language by showing that it is very dark and not a happy film. The red light that shines on the characters floods them with it and looks like it symbolises blood. The sounds of them swearing and the shooting/stabbing emphasise the badness of these people.

Practice Task

For our practice task we had to film a conversation from afew seconds to about a minute. We had to include afew camera shots and be able to practice using the cameras and editing software, the software we are using to edit our work is Adobe.

This was are first attempt at filming and editing a small piece of footage. the point of this was to get used to the editing software and the video camera. Overall we were pleased with the finished product and have learned how to use the equipment.