Film Opening Current Ideas

For my film opening, my initial idea was that the genre would be a crime thriller, and it would be inspired by the likes of 'Murder, She Wrote' and 'Agatha Christie's Poirot'. However in today's lesson, as a class we all got the opportunity to share our ideas to each other, and then receive beneficial feedback from one another. During the conversation about my ideas, we soon came to the conclusion that instead of a crime thriller, the genre would be better as a comedy mystery, as I could incorporate much more ideas into this genre. For example, one of the things I could do is create this character of a clumsy/ditzy detective, which helps me keep the comedy aspect as well.

We also said that it would be a great idea if we could somehow play with the audiences minds also. For example, after the crime has been committed and the group are surrounding the body, I could have shots of someone mysteriously putting something into their pockets and another person shifting in a suspicious way. I think this would be effective as it creates and enigma for the audience and makes them ask themselves if it was them.

Due to the fact that I wanted to add more impact and suspense to my opening, I decided to make the unknown killer a serial killer, which brings me to another idea which was contributed during the discussion. After the person has been killed, I think it would be a really good idea if someone could find a note by the crime scene saying 'Who's Next?' (or something along those lines.) It tells the audience that trouble isn't over and that there's more to come, this would be my narrative and the thing that keeps them wanting to watch the rest of the film.

And finally I have decided that the name of my film will be called 'Kreviss.'

Analyzing film genres and their Conventions

For my film opening I have decided to make it a Comedy Mystery. Here are some examples of Comedy Mystery films which I'd like to emulate in my opening:

• Clue (1985)
• Mystery Team (2009)
• Scooby-Doo (2002)
• The Cheap Detective (1978)
• The Pink Panther (2006)

The common conventions which we notice in all these films is that although a serious crime has been committed, in order to keep a certain lighthearted, comedy theme throughout the film, a ditsy, clumsy and somewhat unprofessional detective is used. By doing so, we almost lower our expectations of the detective and not expect him to succeed in his task, however when he finally does, it comes as a shock to us all.

A Case Study Of A TV Drama: Waterloo Road

Film Opening: Researching Genre

Genre and Film	Character	Setting	Mood	Narrative hook	Sound	Titles
1.       Horror Scream	'Casey Becker' is the first character shown. She is alone in her house, when a stranger calls her and she's conversing on the phone with him.	It's set in her house. This is effective because she is alone and a shot is soon shown that her house is in a very secluded place, thus emphasizing the fact that if she screams for her, no one would hear her.	At the start it's calm & slow, there is no music at all. As the scene progresses, the audience feels on edge and afraid (fast, haunting music is introduced, also her deafening screams)	Mysterious man keeps calling and antagonizing her. Also the the fast, loud music makes your heart race, thus making the viewer want to watch more to find out what happens next.	Low, threatening sounds, deep loud drums contribute to making our heart race. They almost sound like a large monster stomping it's feet as it comes closer and closer.	Only 1 title is used, red -> blood, danger
2.       Comedy Easy A	'Olive' (protagonist) is eventually shown, but we hear her voice (monologue) to start with. When she first appears, we see her being knocked over to the ground, adding to the comedy element.	At a high school. It tells us that this is the story of a high school girl and her struggles of popularity (we know this because she appears as a 'geek' type character.)	'Feel good' music is used. Lighthearted, also her humorous monologue makes the scene more comedic.	The protagonist's sense of humour and the fact that she's shown as a geek makes us want to continue to watch her and her journey through high school.	Upbeat, happy, fast paced, dance like music	13
3.       Romcom The Breakfast Club	Non diegetic monologue is spoken. Five teenagers are shown with their pushy parents as they get ready to enter detention.	A stereotypical public high school. Shots of vandalism committed by teenagers are shown.	Anticipation for when they meet (and their clashing personalities.) We're sympathetic for them due to their pushy parents.	The different personalities of the teenagers -> we know they'll soon meet, makes us wonder what will happen? Will there be conflict?	Non diegetic music (iconic song for movie). Also the person saying the monologue	0

In conclusion, from the information provided in the table I believe that researching the patterns that occur in different film openings will in the end help me a lot for my own opening. The table shows me how important certain elements are (Character, Setting, Mood, Narrative Hook, Sound, and Titles) in terms of making a film opening work well. I think that the mood created in an opening is incredibly important, as it's meant to reflect the genre, as well as how the audience should be feeling. For instance in the film 'Easy A', which is a comedy, the music used is upbeat and 'happy', which in result translates to the audience that the atmosphere and mood is lighthearted and feel-good.

Life On Mars Reflection

For our 'Life on Mars' exercise, we were told to put ourselves into groups and my group consisted of myself, Romina, Lizeth and Georgia. We began by watching a clip from the tv series 'Life on Mars' which we were then asked to recreate. Before we began the actual filming process, we needed to watch the clip as many times as we could in order to record all the individual shots and timings, and we also had to be sure that our short film would fit the soundtrack. In order to record our findings, we were given a timetable to record the timings, and we also created a page full of screen grabs. This was incredibly helpful for our filming process as we could easily use them to guide us.

I found the filming process to be an incredibly fun and interesting experience, however we did endure struggles. For example, the weather was definitely not on our side! Due to the fact that majority of our filming was situated outside, we couldn't avoid the terrible cold and rainy weather. For our first shot, we chose to shoot this in the car park, as a car was needed in this section. Georgia was to take on the role of the protagonist, therefore unfortunately for her in this scene, she had to lay down on the cold, wet ground for a long period of time, as we really wanted to get the shot as accurate as we could. It was also really difficult being behind the camera for this shot, as I was required to lay on the ground alongside Georgia, and position the camera in a way which correctly mimicked the screen grab. After shooting that, our clothes were both wet and covered in dirt, but the end result was definitely worth it!

My favourite scene to film would probably be the clip where we had to get plenty of shots of trees and the sky in order to contribute to the surrealism and dreamy aspect of this section. I really enjoyed it because we didn't have to be perfect with it, we could just be free with the camera and I believe the end result looked really pretty, despite the fact that we might've looked strange to those passing by! 

Apart from the minor struggles we faced, I really enjoyed enjoyed everything about this exercise. It was a real learning experience, and my favourite part would probably be the editing process. I learned a lot more about editing from doing this exercise, and I can say that I'd feel comfortable doing so on my own, as I learned a lot from my teacher and also my group! 

Researching Sound in Film and TV

Researching Sound in Film and TV

Diagetic Sound - Sound that originates from the scene/ a source of sound that we can physically witness in the scene. For example, a radio being played.

Non Diagetic Sound - Sound that has been edited in. For example, dramatic, fast music being played during a fighting, action scene. 

Synchronous Sound - Sound that appears to be matched to certain movements occurring in the scene, as when footsteps correspond to feel walking.

Asynchronous Sound - Sound which is indigenous (originating or occurring naturally in a particular place) to the action but not precisely synchronised with the action.

Contrapuntal Sound - When we hear sound that we wouldn't associate with the events on screen. For example; if we are watching children playing on the beach, we wouldn't usually hear fast pace music to accompany it as the styles do not go together. 

Leitmotif - The term 'Leitmotif' was first applied to the operas of Richard Wagner to describe a recurring melody that is associated with a certain character, people, object, place, emotion or idea. For example the 'Jaws' theme song is often associated with the thriller. 

Life On Mars

Opening Sequence Research

Opening Title Sequence 

A title sequence is the method by which films or television programmes present their title, key productions, cast members and its use of visuals and sound.  Opening title sequences are very important, as they are the first thing the viewers are going to see, therefore it has to be able to instantly attract a person and make them want to stay and watch the rest of the film. If an opening film title sequence isn’t attracting or appealing enough, it won’t grab the viewer’s attention, thus making them not want to watch the film.

Film Opening Analysis 

It is very important to different film genres to reflect that same genre in the opening of the film, in order to immediately attract a fan of that genre. For example horror film, 'Scream', is very good at building that tension which is needed in order for the impact to be even more effective. The film starts off with a very slow story line, with a girl answering the phone then proceeding to talking to a stranger who appears to have gotten the wrong number. No music is used during this part, which makes the scene more eerie as silence can often be threatening. However, soon enough the mood changes and suddenly threatening music is used in order to reflect the feeling of the character, as well as the viewers.

 

 However this is not always the case. For example with comedy films, the same feel or upbeat disposition is often used throughout the entire film in order to keep the viewers feeling interested and lively. With the movie 'Easy A' for example, the main character's narration is used in a non diegetic form, and whilst the monologue is being said, a comedy aspect is still brought through by the jokes that the narrator is saying. Also how we are firstl introduced to the character, she is seen being knocked over by a group of 'popular girls', falling to the ground alongside all her papers which are all scattered around her in a humorous way. This light hearted disposition is current throughout the whole film. Therefore this tells us that how the film opens tends to depend on the genre itself.