Thursday 28 April 2011

Film Titles Timeline For Rainman

In this Lesson i created another timeline to show how most films follow the same rules for which way the titles go in the opening of a film.


0.00 - Institutional Logo
0.13 - Second Institutional Logo
0.31 - Production Company
0.36 - 2nd Production Company
0.41 - 3rd Production Company
0.45 - 1st Actor
0.49 - Second Actor
0.58 - Film Title
1.27 - 3rd Actor
1.31 - Casting By
1.57 - Costume By
1.42 - Associate Producer
1.48 - Co-Producer
1.52 - Music By
1.58 - Film Editor
2.04 - Production Designer
2.08 - Director of Photography
2.12 - Executive Producer
2.20 - Story By
2.24 - Screenplay By
2.27 - Produced By
2.41 - Directed By


Monday 28 March 2011

Fim Titles Timeline For My sisters keeper

In this lesson I created a timeline which showed the titles for an opening film. The reason I did this was because when it comes to our group making our film we need to start thinking about the titles as they are very important in an opening! I chose the opening of my sisters keeper because it's a popular tragic drama which is helpful because it's the genre I'm doing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS55xHZWzEo

0.00 - Start
0.02 - Film makers name
0.07 - Main actors name (female)
0.17 - Main actors name (female)
0.24 - Title of film
0.33 - Main actors name (male)
0.37 - Main actors name (male)
0.40 - Main actors name (female)
0.46 - Sub actors name (female)
0.51 - Sub actors name (male)
0.54 - 3 minor actors names (shown together) (male)
0.58 - Casting directors name
1.02 - Costume designers name
1.09 - Music directors name
1.12 - Co-producers name
1.25 - Editors name
1.29 - Production designers name
1.34 - Director of photography's name
1.41 - Executive producers name
1.51 - "Based on novels" name
1.55 - Producers names
2.01 - Screen plays names
2.05 - Directors name
2.05 - End


By doing this task I have started to realise how important the titles are in the opening, this opening is only 2 minutes yet it has 15 titles! I noticed that the title came up very early in this opening as well. When we come to making our film opening we will defiantly need to add in all the titles because they are very important as that's what makes the opening and gives the people who put so much effort into the film credit for their hard work.

Sunday 27 February 2011

Type of Characters to Star in My film.

Ella Young.

A very young  girl who is seemed to be innocent and happy all the time, idolises her mum, giggly. - cannot be seen as she is a voice over.




If i was to choose someone for this part i would choose Anna Chlumsky in 'My Girl (1991) because she comes across innocent and happy - and can make people cry.








Sarah Young

A middle aged mum type character who is strong willed and would do anything for her children is the part i need for my film.






Nicole Kidman in 'The Others (2001)' is the perfect character to play this part as she is fierce and believable.








Nick Young 

A man who is strong on the outside but soft on the inside is what i need for this part, a man who is stubborn but will cave in at the end for love.






Sean Penn in 'Mystic River (2003)' would be the best person to play this character due to his show stopping performance and how he is in this film is exactly how i want the character to be played.

Comparing ideas to other films from my genre

My groups film is a tragic drama. We thought this would be a good genre to choose as we all like tragic dramas and feel we know about it fairly well. My sisters keeper (2009) was a film we took ideas from and has played a significant part in coming up with our film idea. For example for our opening we have a young girl talking over the top as does my sisters keeper but the young girl talking over the top is going to be a lot younger and we do not start it straight away like this film does. A difference with our film and my sisters keeper is we are going to show memories of what happened to the young girl when she was a child. In our film the voice over is to show the girl is in heaven and she cannot be seen on the screen as this would ruin the illusion that she is always there even when she is not. Another similarity is that our drama is family orientated as is my sisters keeper. But we are going to show the family going through bad times and not getting along as my sisters keeper is about the family getting on and being close.

3 openings from Tragic Drama

Forrest Gump. (1994)

The Narrative in this film is open, this is because we know the film carries on. The opening shows the narrative about being alone in a world where there is so many people. We know this because as we see the feathers journey throughout the town we see lots of people getting on with there life's doing different things, but as the feather ends its journey it stops in front of a man on his own opening a suitcase which is filed up with things for one person only.

The Genre in this opening is left open, by this i mean the use of sound and titles means it could be a ROM com or a drama. This is due to the happy sound of the music and everything on the screen being light for example the setting and the titles. Rom Coms often start in a happy way, where as dramas can start in many different ways, being happy or sad.

There are quite a few background characters in this opening showing people getting on with there life in the city but nearer the end of the opening it shows one man on his own who doesn't say anything, the audience can instantly tell he is going to play a big part in this film.

The atmosphere is very slow paced in this beginning, as it shows the life of the feather, a feather being an unharmful object, blowing through the wind slowly. As soon as the feather drops everything becomes quicker from there as reality on earth kicks in.

The themes in this opening seem to be family as from the sky you can see families together getting on with their life happy, but also a theme tends to be lonesomeness as the man is sitting on the bench on his own, looking as though he is waiting for something to happen.

The setting for this opening is a busy city, showing the city from above all the buildings, getting close to some buildings then moving further away. Then showing a bench which is an important part in a city as that's where people sit and watch life's happen.

The institutional logo is the first thing to show in the this opening - paramount. The titles during the film tend to be  big but white to fit in with the harmonic setting of the feather moving around, this leaves a a calming atmosphere on the audience.

The sound used for the opening of Forrest gump is peaceful as a simple melody is played on the piano in a high key in a reasonably slow manner, this starts the film on a good note as the audience relaxes ready to watch an easy film.

The narrative in this film is open as we know the film carries on because this is just the opening. Throughout the opening the non diegetic voice talks about his life introducing people and daily objects this shows the narrative being 'his life'. but things could change as the film goes on.

The Genre in this piece immediately shows it is a drama. This is due to the character talking about his life and how he hates it he even says his life is nearly over and he has one more year to live, this gives the audience an insight into what might happen in the film.

There are quite a lot of characters in the opening considering it is just the beginning, this includes: The voice over showing himself the audience See's that he is quite a negative character, the mans wife cutting her roses showing she is getting on wife life happily, the 2 next door neighbors who are homosexual and the daughter who is not happy with herself which is a stereotypical thing for a teenage girl. The way the voice over talks you know the film is going to be about him.


The atmosphere in this film started off slow paced when the voice over was just talking while the camera slowly zoomed into the city then everything changed to a normal pace when all the characters were introduced. This makes the audience feel more at home as we see everything is normal.


The themes in this opening is simply life, as we are introduced to his life and everything goes with it, as the film starts to go more themes will be released.

There are a fair few settings in this opening such as the town, the bedroom, the bathroom, the garden and the front garden - this shows a normal morning and how things are in a family home.


There were no titles in this opening scene which means they will come in an unusual place.


The sound in this open is a simple beat to show a simple morning in a simple family in a simple place. This eases the audience as it is an easy film to watch.






Rain man (1988)

The Narrative in this film is open like the others as we know the film will continue. Also there is no clue to what is going to happen in this film narrative wise as it just shows 3 men looking at cars for the whole piece, this leaves the audience thinking about what is going to happen and gives them a chance to guess what is coming next.

The genre like the narrative is left open to guess as you cannot tell by 3 men and workers around some cars what is going to happen as the film unfolds it will be able to guess but in the first 3 minutes the audience cannot tell.

The characters in this opening are 3 men looking at cars, one with a clipboard. This shows that they are in the business somehow. There are alot of background workers doing different jobs obviously working for these men with the clipboard.

The atmosphere throughout this whole opening is slow paced, this is due to no one saying anything and watching the men looking at the cards hoisting one down from above. Not much is going on but you are intrigued to know what they are doing.

The theme for this opening is business, that seems to be the only theme as there are no other clues for what else could happen in this film.

The 2 settings in this film are the city when we watch the car slowly move up high with the city behind and a car site with loads of similar looking cars, this shows that the film is going to be set in the city.

The institutional logo is used first - metro Goldwyn Mayer. The titles are shown on a black background with big writing in white with all the main actors names first, this shows that they are important as they are the focus point of the screen at the time. The rest of the titles come up in front of the car site this shows they are not seen to be as important as the main actors as they are not the focus point of the screen at the time

The first sound used is talking in the background when nothing is shown on the screen, but very quietly. Next a beat kicks in and continues for a while and the audience can tell that something is going to happen then a feel good song kicks in and you feel happy.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Looking at Genre

In this lesson we looked at genre. We viewed clips and picked out the things that makes them that genre.



Action - Saving Private Ryan

  1. American And French Flags used which symbolises the patriotic nature of war.
  2. Old man showing generations that were affected standing in a cemetry surrounded by crosses which represent death this shows lives lost in war.
  3. Traditional 'Proud American' non-diegetic music in the background

Comedy - Wall-e
  1. Classic pixar opening with the lamp
  2. uplifting theatrical non-diegetic music
  3. although the main genre is comedy it also has elements of sci fi due to the use of credits and the background being planets.
Psyco - Horror
  1. The on going non diegetic sharp music which makes you think something bad is going to happen soon
  2. The simple green lines moving on the screen intrigues your eyes which sets the scene in a suspicious way. 
  3. The way the screen stays the same just makes you wait for the bad thing to happen.

Monday 31 January 2011

Looking at Student Films

we looked at 3 students films and assessed the good points and bad points.

Student Opening One 
The first film we watched included some good ideas for example i feel the photos used on the tree were effective as they were signifying a creepy horror atmosphere, this is due to them just dangling there which seems as though the persons life is just dangling and we do not know their fate. However I feel the clip showed too much of the film for an opening it seemed rushed and more of a trailer as it wasn't continuous and kept jumping. The film lacked continuity with the use of transitions this added the trailer effect and lacked being a successful film opening.



Student Opening Two 
The second film included some good ideas, the effects used for example on the stalker were successful as this added a scary worrying atmosphere as the quality of picture kept turning negative. A high pitched non diegetic sound is used, this also adds a scary atmosphere and keeps the audience on the edge as when ever it is used it makes the audience jump, this keeps them on the edge of their seats. However like the first film i feel this opening contains to much of the film to just be an opening it also feels more like a trailer as you can guess from the beginning whats going to happen. Personally this was my favourite opening from the three we watched mainly due to the creative editing techniques used i feel this had a strong effect on the atmosphere and created the horror genre well.



Student Opening Three
I think this opening was the weakest out of all three. This is because everything was slow paced and lacked entertainment it seemed as though we as the audience were waiting for something to happen when nothing was going too this made the audience not interested about the rest of the film. However, this was the most continuous opening out of all three and stuck to the guideline of a film opening using the 180 degree rule and and matching every shot up perfectly. To improve this opening i think they should look closer to detail as there were some small mistakes, For example one actor was supposed to be dead but when the camera zoomed out you could see she was smiling.



This lesson was helpful because i know to make my opening continuous, this is very important so the audience don't think it looks like a trailer also to Analise my film closely to make my opening the best it can be to make sure i haven't left anything vital out. Getting feedback from an audience whom where going to suit this too at every stage will also be a massive help to improve.

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Reservoir Dogs Opening

The way genre was shown in the opening proves it was action. This was due to the group of males walking down an urban street. When people see a large group of men they immediately think trouble.


The way narrative is used signifies that theres going to be trouble. The narrative in this opening is closed as we all ready know the film has a beginning middle and an end, also it uses Barthes theory. Also we can tell that problems will occur in this opening as there are a gang of men. We know this mainly because of how they are walking in a group, it looks intimidating and as they are walking they stick out there chest to make themselves seem bigger and more aggressive.


There are 8 men in this opening all dressed the same and walking as a unit. The way they are wearing dark glasses and smoking makes them look threatening to passers by, the characters in the opening make it seem as though they are up to no good and obviously dealing with some sort of illegal business.


The atmosphere in this opening is serious as they have blank expressions on there face and there is no body around to witness what they are doing. We can also tell they are serious when as they come out of an alley and walk straight to the car. The whole opening in very smooth and continuous it doesn't jump to different places and runs in a connected way from the path to the car.


The themes in this opening are gangster. This is a definitive because the first thing we see is a gang. The gang is going to get up to illegal affairs in this film due to there professional look and manner, that is another theme.


The film opening takes place in a street during day time, they have just walked out of an alley so this makes the audience think they could be criminals, the fact that they are preparing during daytime shows that the night is when the events are going to take place.


This film uses a soundtrack to open the film, an old r'n'b song creates a feel good atmosphere for the audience as it starts on a high and doesn't use a dreary track to set the whole film off. The old sound lets the audience know it is a film from the past and not present.


The titles used in this opening are yellow and plain, this is good for this film as they are easy to read and there isn't too much going on. Transitions are used to introduce the characters names and for them to go off the screen. I think using plain titles for a film like this is a good idea as so far at the beginning by using just a simple walk to a car and simple titles it gives the film an easy non complicated beginning.

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Confessions of a Shopaholic Opening

This film opening immediately illustrates that it is going to be a comedy, we know this due to the focal point being shoes and shopping. The way the girl is memorized by the clothes at such a young age also shows the audience that this is going to be a funny film and she will encounter a lot of problems on the way.


The Narrative in this opening is closed, we know this as the film as the film has already been made with an ending, Barthes theory supports this. The narrative for this opening is wanting something so bad when your a child and achieving it when your older but with some barriers in the way, crossing bridges to reach your goal of getting exactly what you want at the end. We know this because she looks up to the older woman with admiration and wants what the woman in the shop have got.


The characters in this opening are a young naive girl watching all the older woman living the life she wants to lead, hoping that someday she will be like them. We know she is naive because she says "magic card" about the credit cards, she thinks you can get stuff for free by using that card. Also there are 3 girls laughing at the young girl when she is saying she wants glitter shoes that last weeks but is stuck with practical shoes instead while the 3 girls are surrounded by the shoes that she wants. Her sensible mother appears in the clip buying her daughter shoes that will last, this shows that the young girl has not got her mothers way of thinking.


The atmosphere in this clip starts of slow paced with everything moving in slow motion, as the clip goes on you soon see every time an item of clothing is shown in the camera that she wants everything becomes slower as she is looking at the item with lust. The clip returns to normal speed when the girls look at her and laugh but goes back to slow motion as she walks down the street looking in shop windows. This creates a fantasy world to the character as she is surrounded by her passion.


The themes in this clip are mostly shopping, as the whole opening is focused around that theme. Everywhere the camera takes us leads to a shop. Another theme is debt, you can tell that the theme of debt is going to be bigger in the rest of the theme by the way credit cards are used alot and she relates them to magic cards.


The setting for this opening all tend to be shop orientated, they take place in the shop outside the shop window and on the high street. The tells alot about what is too come in the film as if everything is focuses around shops that's what the plot is going to be.


The titles in this piece are small and tend to fade into the background and don't shot out at the audience. Also they are purple and the picture behind the titles use bright colours like purple. The titles seem to not be as important as what is going on behind them.


The sound used for this is a soundtrack to older music as the opening is meant to be past not present day, the lyrics "i would do anything" stand out to be as the opening is about wishing she could have lovely things but is stuck with practical. Over the soundtrack there is a voice over speaking to the audience about what she wants and why she wants them. For example the voice over is explaining how beautiful the dresses were while the young girl was just watching, this seems as thought the voice over is speaking what the young girl is thinking.



Tuesday 18 January 2011

Casino Royale

Casino Royale Opening.

Genre - There are 3 main genres in this opening them being Gambling, action and fighting, they are all shown in detail rather than in a film trailer where they roughly show the genre or part of it.

Narrative - The narrative is Musical with no words as the opening does not need to explain the story or the jist of it where as the trailer does.

Character - Quite a lot of characters show in the opening where as in a trailer they don't need to appear, in the opening Many characters Die, One is always alive and there is a woman (queen like).

Atmosphere - The atmosphere in the opening can be different to the rest of the film, where as the trailer needs to show the atmosphere of the whole film in 3 minutes. The atmosphere of the opening is Eerie, Death and Sneaky

Themes - The themes of the opening and trailer are the same as it is what the film is. The film opening themes are Cards, games, gambling, guns, blood and Original bond gun opening.

Setting - The setting for the opening is different to a trailer as it depends where the film starts but the trailer is a mixture of different places. The Opening shows a Casino, Moving on cards and games.

Sound - The sound for the opening needs to set the mood for the whole film where as this doesn't impact the trailer. The sound in the opening is a Soundtrack (fast Mysterious)

Titles - The titles in the opening need to stand out as this also sets the atmosphere for the film, they need to be easy to read.



Casino Royale Trailer.

Genre - The genres in the trailer are just brief as it is only to advertise the film, the genres in the trailer are Action, fast paced and mysterious.

Narrative - The narrative for the trailer needs to tell the audience what the film is roughly about, this trailer speaks to audience,tells the audience its about winning/losing lots of money and that Bond is needed.

Character - All the actors don't need to be shown in the trailer just the big stars to encourage people to go watch it, this trailer shows Bond(authoritative),Woman(young and glamorous)and Evil(funny face).

Atmosphere - The atmosphere in a trailer needs to be consistent so the audience knows just what the film is going to be like. In this trailer it is Sneaky, secretive, fast and destructive.

Themes - The trailer for this film is the same as the opening with the themes being Money, woman, winning and violence.

Setting - The setting in the trailer shows a different collection of different places they go to in this film that look appealing. This trailer shows Warm places, night, abandoned house, casino and airplanes.

Sound - The sound for a trailer needs to be original and make you think of the film as soon as you hear it. For this trailer the Bond theme tune is used which is a very big tune and most people recognise it when they hear it as it is Loud, Flashy and Boom-ey.

Titles - The trailer needs to flow smoothly so everything is in the same font - linked together.

The differences with both trailer and opening are mainly the opening is all in cartoon where as the trailer shows parts of the film. Also the trailer shows whats going to happen in the film and gives a general idea whereas the opening is mysterious and you almost have to guess.

The similarities with both trailer and opening are they both include the main themes; guns, woman and gambling as they audience needs to know this whether it is a trailer or opening.


Monday 17 January 2011

Film Openings

When looking at film openings we discuss the following in detail so the audience know what sort of film it is even by not even watching it:

Genre
Narrative
Character
Atmosphere
Themes
Setting
Sound
Title



We watched the opening of 'My Best Friends Wedding (1997)'

Genre - The genre for this film is a romantic comedy we know that by the woman in dresses singing a romantic song, thinking of love.

Narrative - By the opening we know there is going to be romance because of the costume but we also know that it isn't going to go exactly to plan as everything is perfect.

Character - In the opening the only characters are the bride and 3 bridesmaids surrounding her all happy and excited.

Atmosphere - In this opening all of the characters are excited for the brides big day, we know this by them all singing and smiling in their costumes. Another atmosphere is supportiveness, this is shown by the bridesmaids dancing around the bride.

Themes - Themes in this film are love, we know this because of their being a wedding and weddings symbolise love. But also, friendship due to all the brides friends being with her on her big day.

Setting - In Studio with a pink background to make the set look more girly.
Sound - Happy Tune is played to start the film on a high note, singing about love immediately makes the audience happy and reminisces there own wedding.
Titles - Written In Handwriting makes it looks homely - it looks like a wedding invitation.
We Watched The Opening of  'Catch Me If You Can (2002)'

Genre - The genre of this film shown by the opening is mystery as it is an animation so its harder to tell what the genre is except, we know action is involved as when the cars show they speed round a corner. Narrative - The narrative shows a chase in the beginning whether it be by car or on foot, we know that this is not going to be an easy watch. Character - There are only animated characters used in this opening and they are percieved in a clever way as the one gettign chased disguises himself. Atmosphere - The atmosphere shows suspense as we do not know whether the man infront is going to get caught or not, this is all very fast paced. Themes - The  themes used i nteh beginnign are wealth as the animated people are all dressed up nicely which shows they are well educated people, also lonelyness. Setting - There are many settigns used for the opening these include a hospital, airport, Yellow cab, and America Sound - The music is calming which is in contrast to the hustle and bustle of what is going on, on the screen. Qualities found in Trailers - Gives information about the film: usually the best bits of the film nowadays, which is unfortunate. - Voiceover - Actor's name at the end - Tagline before title - Company name at the beginning - Sharp transitions; fade to black mostly used - Discontinuous - Usually the best parts of the film to get the audience involved - Niche audience usually recognised through the trailer Qualities found in Opening - Has details of cast, crew, institution - The films title - Introduction to character type - Indication of place - Indication of historical period - Indication regarding mood and tone - Introduction to signature theme tune - Information about Genre - Atmosphere - Setting - Sound - Narrative; hints and link to storyline - Character - Themes - Titles (integrated job roles etc.) - Quite simplistic unlike a trailer