AS media : Research

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Feedback from first film draft

From our feedback we got good results. The main thing that was good about our film was the titles and editing. People thought this was good as we had a wide range of effects and the titles worked well with the background they were on. The main thing we need to do in order to make our film better is make the genre more evident. The way we will do this is get more shots in.

7th November BFI school trip

On the 7th November our media class went to the BFI (British Film Industry) in South Bank, London. Here we were taught all about the ins and outs of filming, ranging from the producing of films to the distributing of them.
When we got to the BFI we went into a cinema like room to listen to a lecture by Rob Miller. The first thing he taught us was what the difference was between a mainstream and an independent film. A mainstream film is a film that is distributed to mass, national and international audiences e.g. Star Trek Into Darkness and Gravity. These films tend to have a high budget produced by big institutions like 20th Century Fox. An independent film is one that has more localised appeal with niche audiences and that often utilise digital technologies to create 'brand awareness'. Independent films do not have access to extensive distribution networks. The Selfish Giant as useful example in terms of current limited distribution.
Later on Rob interviewed Matthew Justice. He is a managing director of Big Talk. He shared his experience in making films such as 'Hot Fuzz' and TV programmes such as 'Our Zoo'.
later on we met a man called Lee Bye. He is currently head of theatrical distribution and technical at Pathe, a leading independent production, distribution and international sales company. He shared his experiences of distributing films and what makes an independent film distribution different to the distribution of a mainstream film.
The last person we met was a woman called Clare Binns. She is a programming & acquisitions director, Picturehouse Cinema Ltd. She shared with us how films get from the end product of the film to the showing of them in the cinemas.
The hole thing was a great experience and helped me understand the true making of films and how much of a long process it can be

Student film opening marketing.

What I liked

The start of the film oppening was very clever as they got a veiw shot from the skateboard. This was very original.
They got a good selection of shots rainging from long shots to tracking shots
The acting was good is some points.

What I didn't like

The view shot on the skateboard was used overused.
The background sound was very loud in some points which made it hard for me to understand what they were saying.
The titles were very basic as they just appeared on the screen with no effect so lacked in originality.

Score

I would give this film opening a level 2, 30/60 marks. I feel this as I struggled to understand what was going on in the opening as it wasn't made clear. It was not very original where it came to the titles either.

With Held

What I liked

I like the way they have faded the titles on and off the screen.
The setting of the woods and the background sound of the birds work well together.
The different shots of the car driving along was good as it made the film more interesting.
There was a clever shot in the mirror of the car without showing the camera.

What I didnt like

I feel that the first shot of the woods was on the screen for too long and kept us waiting for a long time before anything happened in the film.
The acting from the man was extremely forged.
I wasn't really aware of the genre.

Score

I would give this film a level 4, 55/60 marks. I have given it this mark as they were very clever in their camera shots as they mixed them up well. However it didn't get full marks as I wasn't very sure of the genre.

Blitz

What I liked

I liked the camera angles used in the beginning, showing the whole room.
The faded effects in the opening worked well as they were very subtle and didn't ruin the tension.
The close ups worked well as they didn't give too much away as it was a mystery genre.
The background sound worked well with the earey room.

What I didn't like

The only thing I didn't like about the film opening was the acting or the child as I felt it was quite forged, however it was very subtle.

Score

I would score this a level 4, 59/60 marks. The reason I would give it such a high mark as I couldn't find hardly any faults with it.

Student film opening whole class feedback

In today's lesson we looked at dozens of A level film openings as a class. After watching each film opening we discussed what we liked and didn't like about each film opening. The ones that we liked tended to have an original way as to how the film titles were presented on the screen. They also tended to have good camera angle shots for example one film opening got a view shot from a skateboard. They films that the class didn't like tended to have poor acting skills in them and also didn't make their genres clear so we were unaware as to what the opening was about.

Mise en scene

The phrase 'Mise en scene' comes from the french and simply means 'what is in the scene?' CLAMPS is an acronym that is used to describe the factors in mise en scene.
C - Costume
L - Lighting
A - Actors
M - Make up
P - Props
S - Setting

This picture of James Bond looking over London is a great picture to use for mise en scene as it portrays a lot in it. The black coat represents the type of weather it is as black is worn mostly in the winter. The black could also represent the danger that Bond brings to people trying to do wrong. The lighting matches with the black clothing as it is quite dim and gloomy which could represent a death that has happened. The only actor in this shot is Daniel Craig who is very well known. Make up isn't shown much as you cant see his face. Props also isn't seen in it. The setting is very powerful as it is in an iconic place. The way the shot is taken, coming from the back, makes bond look powerful as he is looking as big as the buildings.

Film institution and logo

High budget v low budget film from BenClifford

Logo

This is the logo I created. I got the idea of the name 'Sharp Pictures' from looking at other film companies names. After looking at the logos on Google images, I came up with the name 'Shap Pictures'.

Juno Project

I feel that our filming went quite well in all. I feel this as we got good camera angles in order to get good shots of each scene. In order to make our filming better we could have been more still with the camera as it was quite bumpy at some point.
Our storyboard was accurate as we stuck to the timings and scenes that are written on the storyboards.
Our strengths in the group were getting the work done quickly as we all assigned a role for everyone which made it run smoothly and quickly. The only weakness we had as a group was deciding where to film each scene as we couldn't all agree on a specific spot at first but we then agreed.
We did get the majority of the footage we wanted however we missed out on one scene near the end.
The technical skills I learnt with the camera was how to focus on a specific spot without it going blurry. The technical skills I learnt with premier was how to edit scenes buy cutting. I also learnt how to unlink my footage which allowed me to stop the sound in the footage from overpowering the song.
Our piece compares very well to the original as the timings are very similar for example in the first scene we have got the runners timed exactly right. Things we could have done to make it better was make sure the milk is in the exact same hand as it is in the original piece. Another thing I could have done to make it closer to the original was to put some swipes in when editing, however other than that i feel it is very similar to the original.

Juno storyboard

These are our storyboard's that we used to help film our peice. We wrote what was needed to be in the scene on the lines and drew an image of what the scene was meant to look like in the box above.

My first attempt of editing

What I found hard
I found editing an extremely hard art to master. The main thing I found challenging was to sync the images with the audio. I wanted to mix the main chorus of the song with the main action in the images. I found this challenging as you had to cut the images and this made the clip shorter which I didn't want. Another thing I found challenging was to get rid of the black shots that kept cutting through the images.

What I found easy
The main thing I found easy was to gently fade the images from one to another by adding effects in at the start of the images and at the end of them.

Film language

CAPE FEAR

Mise en scene

Posters show what he worships and what his religion is.
His tattoo 'Scale of Justice' shows that he is obsessed with balance.
The fact that he is working out and is showing his muscles portrays his manliness
He has a cocky look on his face and this shows his authority

Camera

The camera starts with a close up of the posters, slowly tracking down until it zooms out to a mid shot - showing the man work out.
The next shot is a tracking shot, showing the man walk along the corridor.
When the man gets to the bottom of the corridor it turns to a high shot.
The next shot shows the man walk to the camera going from a long shot to a close up of his face. This then repeats.

Editing

The first edit switches from the inside gate closing to the outside gate opening
The second edit switches from a close up of the mans face to a long shot of him.

Sound

At the start of the clip the trumpets are played whilst showing the pictures of the leaders. This links well to the pictures as the trumpet is quite a powerful instrument and so are the leaders.
When we see Candy the music gets a lot more higher in pitch and is bitter and sharp. This shows it is parallel as it links the character to the music which could show us that he is a bitter man.
There is a voice over when Candy is let out his of his cell
The music then gets softer when Candy gets close to leaving the prison, which could suggest he is changing to become a better man
There is on screen sound when the gates open and close
There is on screen sound when there is thunder.

Mise en scene

Facial expressions of the two families are completely different. The woman's family are ecstatic as they have massive grins on their faces and they are jumping up and down however the mans family are not amused as their facial expressions are very timid.
The house is in the middle of no where so - Warm and welcoming
They go out into the countryside - very romantic
Clouds are within the scene which resemble a peaceful area.
The yellow colours on both the couples show their bond together.

Camera

The start of the clip starts off with a close up of the camera flash.
There is a longshot of the couple getting married and when they walk home from the wedding.
The next close up is of the woman cutting through a piece of wood with a saw
There is a close up when the couple are painting the letter box and then it gradually gets further away.
There is a high shot of the zoo and then it gradually gets lower
A slight tracking shot is shown when it goes from the couple painting the room to the couple at the hospital

Editing

There are many edits the majority of the edits switch from snapshots to snapshots.

Sound

At the wedding the music is very jolly which sums up the mood of the room.
The music stays peaceful until they hear bad news that she can't have any kids, the music slows down and gets a lot lower pitch which could symbolise that her life has completely stopped and dropped.

Terminator 2

Mise en scene:

The setting is in a remote wasteland with metal and skulls scattered across the area. This causes an anxious effect.
The lighting is very dark with dull colours. This sets the emotion to the scene.
The facial expression of the robots are lifeless. Showing the effect of what the robots are having on the world in this film.
The robot gets a close up whichs shows their dominance.

Camera

The first camera shot starts off with a tracking shot. This allows the watcher to get a good feel as to what sort of scene they are looking at.
It then turns into a close up of the robots leg then moves out to get a mid shot of the robots upper body.
The next shot goes back to a tracking shot as the camera tracks the human soldiers running. This allows the looker to feel that they are part of the army as the camera acts as a soldier.
Another close up is next of the robots gun. This portrays an intimidating feeling as if you are looking down the barrel of the gun.

Editing

The first edit cuts from the mid shot of the robot to the action shot of the soldiers running. This shows the contrast in fighters.
The next edit switches from the soldiers to a close up of the robots gun.

Sound

The first bit of sound we hear is the wind and the creaking of the metal. This immediately creates an eery feeling as at this point we are unaware as to what is going on.
We then get a voice over which plays throughout the scene. This explains as to what is going on. The womans voice doesn't change in tone compared to the sound effects from the fighting shows the contrast in the two things.
We then hear a mix of sound effects from the guns to a deep trumpet playing in the background.
The title of the film is played with deep, fierce music. This music sums up what you have just witnessed in the opening scene as it is very powerful.

Barthes narratives for 'Honeymoon'

Enigma code - Where have they gone for their honeymoon?
                     - Why have they gone there for there for their honeymoon?
                     - What happened to the women in the woods?
                     - Why are these events happening to her?
                     - What happens to her? Does she get better? What happenes to the husband?

Symbolic/Semiotic code - The passionate kisses on the neck shows how deep their love is.
                                        - The open lake with the two lovers on shows how isolated their love is.
                       - The white ripped rags symbolise an evil spirit trying to tear apart the purity of white.
                                         - The slouched position she is is symbolises a typical spiritual position.

Action code - The shotgun shows that there is a potential risk of murder.
                     - The lake is a potential grave for someone.
- The cracking of bones in her toes could foreshaddow the cracking of bones in a more serious place.

                                                               Key characters:

Wife - The wife represents the vunerable character in this trailer as there is automatically something wrong with her as she is sat staring at the tele in a demonic pose.
Husband - The husband represents the emotinally filled man who would do anything for his wife even the she is possessed he will still go near her.

The main theme in this film is supernatural as it is about a wife who gets possed whilst she is on her honeymoon with her husband. The way this is presented is by the use of music in the bacground that link to the images on the screen. For example when the husband is trying to find his wife the music in the background is very tense and then shoots to dead silence. The use of white ragged clothing also helps present a supernatural theme as it shows the consrast in good and evil when it gets dirty.

Narratives for 'The Prestige'

Enigma code- Who is the narrator?
                     - What is the actual magic trick?
                     - Why is he showing a magic trick to a little girl?
                     - Where is the film set?
                     - Who is the guy doing the magic trick with the bird?

Symbolic/semiotic code - The clothing represents the period when he film is set.
                                         - Tank of water represents the trapped nature the man is in.
                                         - The cage that the bird is in forshaddows the mans trapped nature.
                    - The standard of clothing could portray the class of the people watching the magic trick.

Action code - Does the flattening of the cage represent the mans death?
                     - Water tank locking extreemly fiercly. Could symbolise the pounding of his heart.
                     - The man is screaming to get out of the tank.
                     - Facial expressions of the man in the tank show how desperate he is to get out.

'The Survival'

Was our title relevent/ intiguing/ catchy? We got mixed feeback for this. Some people said that the title was catchy however it was quite a comon name of a film. 7/10

Interesting characters approriately cast? We got good feed back from this as people said the characters were good as they were well known. 8/10

Did you create interest for the target audience? Is it different/ interesting enough? From this we got good feedback as they said they felt drawn into he film however there was too much writing to digest. 6/10

Does the narrative fit the genre? Are the convections in place? The feedback we got from this was that the narrative did fit the genre as we made sure we put across a crisis in order to fit the genre of 'Family drama'. We also got the feedback that our convections were in place. 7/10

Marketing the film|? Well thought out, some good ideas? In the right places? From this we got good feedback. We thought of many ways to market our film such as busses, posters, billboards etc. 8/10

Would you buy the film rights? 1 = no money 10 = 20 million. We were offered £8 million.

Our total score was 44/50

The Guest

Setting - There isn't really a main setting in 'The Guest' but the most common setting is the parents house.

Theme - The theme for this film is

Icons - The main icons in 'The Guest' is the guns that represent the love hate nature between the mother and son.

Narrator - This film is about a soldier that introduces himself to the Peterson family, claiming to be a friend of their son who died in action. After the young man is welcomed into their home, a series of accidental deaths seem to be connected to his presence.

Characters - The main characters in 'The Guest' is the solider who comes back from the front and also the Peterson family.

Textual analysis - The fact that this trailer is extremely short means that it doesn't give much away about the film, playing a big part in creating tension.

Oculus

Setting- The main setting for this film is in a families house.

Themes - The theme for Oculus is supernatural.

Icons - In Oculus there is a mirrior that symbolises all the deaths that occur in the film

Narrator- The plot of this film is about a mirror that brings death to each family that has it and a brother and sister have to find out what is going on and stop this devstation.

Characters - The main characters in this film is a bother and sister. They are both aged in their early 20's.

Textual analysis - Sound plays a big part in Oculus as it adds tension and acts as crulty of theartre

The Vow

Setting - There isnt a set setting for 'The Vow' but the most reccuring setting is the wifes house.

Theme - The theme for 'The Vow' is relationships and love.

Icons - The main icon is the photos of the husband and wife as it resembles a solidified relationship.

Narrative - 'The Vow' is about a marrige that gets broken by a car crash with both husband and wife in the car. However the wife forgets who her husband is so the husband needs to make her fall in love with him again.

Characters - The main characters in this film is the husband and wife.

Textual analysis - Sound plays a big role in this as it sybolises the mood of the characters and that adresses the audience and makes them feel the same emotion as the actors

Guardians of the Galaxy

Setting - The main setting for Guardians of the Galaxy is the the guardians spaceship and the galaxy.

Theme - The theme of Guardians of the Galaxy is satire as the superheros make fun of other superheros in the film.

Icons - The icon in this film is it the clothing the leaders wear as it symbolises the team they work for.

Narrator - Guardians of the Galaxy is about a group of space criminal who need to stop a fanatic from destroying the galaxy.

Characters - The main characters in this film are the five space criminals who have to save the galaxy.

Textual analysis - Sound is key in this as it is quite comedic which shows the comedy side to this film.

Film genre

Family Drama

In the first image of me and one other student getting a teddy out of a tree, we tried to represent a family drama as it showed teamwork within the family. The use of the teddy showed the nature and age of the child. The theme of this image was relationships as it showed me helping my daughter out. We made sure the setting of this image was filled with natural bright colours like the green leaves on the tree and the sunlight filtering through the branches. This was key for our genre of family drama and the setting is typical for a family outing. In order to make this image better we could have taken the picture from a better angle that allows to show our faces as the smiling faces could represent the bond that the family have.

Action/adventure

In the second image of me pointing a gun at another student as this represented the genre of action/adventure. The use of the gun as a prop represented the action part as you associate a gun with danger which makes the situation a very action packed thing. The setting of where we shot the picture showed the adventure part as it portrays the surreal surroundings to have a gun pointed at. In order to make this image better we could have gotten the whole picture in rather than cut out parts of our body like my foot for instance.

Denotations and conotations for the poster of 'Jaws'

Semiotics is the discovery of signs and symbols and their use or interpretations. Denotations and connotations are used in the film industry especially in posters to allow the public as to what the film could be about. In this poster the denotations that you can see are the overpowering image of the shark at the bottom of the poster gradually getting closer to the clueless swimmer above. The connotations of this poster is the red colour for the word 'Jaws'. The bold red colour makes you think of a dangerous situations as the colour red is linked with anger and devastation. whilst the blue ocean links to the swimmer as blue is a calm colour which relates to the swimmer being calm in the water.

Saving Private Ryan opening sceene

Denotations

The denotations in the opening scene of 'Saving Private Ryam' is lots of dark colours. The dark colours are shown on the clothing of the soldiers as they are all wearing dark green uniforms with dark coloured weapons like brown. You also see dark colours on the boats as they are grey and also the weather is very dark and gloomy.

Conotations

The use of all these dark colours is very deathly as it conjures up images of pain, suffering, anxiety, the rawness of war and the simplicity of mortality.