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.
Monday 31 January 2011
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.
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.
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.
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
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)'
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