Saturday 29 March 2014

Cast

The cast for our film:
Big Jon - Jonathan Wyllie














Matt Don - Matthew Long











Sam G - Sam Green





















Extras:

  • David Stanton
  • Kyran O'Brien

Costume

For our film we wanted our protagonists to have authority. The genre being crime, meant there had to be characters with authority. We thought the best way to convey this was to put our protagonists in suits.




We feel that this gives our characters the respect they are looking, and also makes them look like they have authority over other characters dressed in their own clothes.

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Opening sequence linked to my film

Godfather:















Narrative function: No dialogue just music; which is easily recognisable to the the film genre.
Conventions displayed: Gun shots and blood appears on screen in every scene; conveys the genre. Images of objects associated with Italian-American gangsters. Red used to signify death and evil; portrays genre.
Characters introduced: The three main protagonists (The Godfather, Al Pacino's character and Diane Keaton's character). No names for the characters, just the actors/actresses names.
Cinematography: Colours of red suggests death and evilness; conveys genre. Black and white background stands out; could suggest good vs evil.
Camera/editing: Smooth editing between each shot, gun shot and blood on screen depicts genre. The meaning behind each cut is to indicate the genre of the film and to create tension. Each edit of a gun shot, adds to the already growing tension, that occurs in the opening minutes of the film.
How is the audience attracted?: The images on the screen are very powerful, and create tension. This is what the audience is expecting from this specific genre. The sound of gun shots and flashes of blood on the screen, convey the genre and grab the audience's attention, and ensures that they are fixated on the screen.
Audience response: Some will be fixated to the screen, as the tension grows. Others will be slightly bored, as nothing much happens and what happens is fairly repetitive.
What have I learn't?/Will I use anything in my film?: I would like to create the same amount of tension in my film, as in the opening minutes of this film. I will do this through the use of sound and the action on the screen. Sound is used to a great effect, and it dictates the pace of the film, and adds to the tension. This I will need to incorporate in my film.

Opening sequence linked to my film

Reservoir dogs:















Narrative function: Starts off with a narrative by a very monotone man; matches atmosphere. The narrative though quickly turns into a music, which narrates until the end.
Conventions displayed: Yellow font which is used throughout; so this is good continuity. Title introduced after the actors have been introduced. Title rises from the bottom of the screen and is placed at the top, above the characters.
Characters introduced: A large group of men in suits; represents power or authority.
Cinematography: Colours are bright, in contrast to the atmosphere.
Camera/editing: Camera tracks the men in slow motion down the road. Cuts from them leaving the bar; which is dark, to a dark screen to the characters outside in the bright sunshine; contrasts earlier scenes. the meaning of each cut, is to introduce each character and their persona. The shot of the men walking down the street in a line, which the camera cutting to each character is meant to convey the persona of each character, as well as to introduce them.
How is the audience attracted?: The audience is attracted through the action of the opening sequence. The image of a group of men in suits, walking in a straight line, suggests power and authority; also acts as an indication to the genre. The sound in the background, the backing track, is very powerful and adds to the appeal of the film, and helps attract the audience's attention.
Audience response: The audience should respond to the image and sound of the film positively. It indicates the genre and creates tension to draw in the audience's attention. Some may see the opening sequence as dull, as nothing much happens.
What have I learn't?/Will I use anything in my film?: I would like to use the costumes that are displayed in this film, as they indicate the genre and also suggest power and authority; of which the genre and our film depicts. The sound/backing track creates tension and adds to the characterisation of each character, thus something like this would work well in our film.

Order of titles/credits

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:


The opening credits start with the production companies, Columbia Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures and Scott Rudin Yellow Bird production. Then the directors name appears, yet he is not formally introduced as the director. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara are introduced first as they play the two main protagonists. The rest of the actors and actresses follow. Yet before, they appear, the title of the film appears, breaking up the more important cast members, and the rest of the cast. The first behind the scenes staff to be introduced are the casting staff, costume designers, co-producers and sound producers. This is very similar, if not the same order, to the 'Superbad' film. More behind the scenes staff follow on, such as, the editors, production designer, director of photography, executive producers and the producers. This is exactly the same as with the 'Superbad' film, which reinforces that this may be the correct order to do it in. As the film follows a book, a title appears making reference to the book and its author and publishers. Next up it's the screenplay writes and finally David Fincher, whom is now formally introduced as the director of the film. The credits are done in a iconic style that can be linked to the genre of thriller and horror, of which the film's genre is. This is done by through the use of an unusual font, that can be related to the genre of the film, horror. The title of the film is in a bold font, as to be recognised as the main title. The titles are very frequent, and quick paced;creating tension. The graphics relate to the films genre and help to convey the film's genre. The graphics add tension and happen at great pace. The colour is dark, again depicting the genre of the film. The meaning of each title, is to add tension and create mystery. The audience will respond to the pace of the titles, font and colour and recognise that the genre is horror. I would like to use a unique font to help depict my films genre. I would also like my title to be bold in order for it to stand-out.

Order titles/credits

Superbad:
















The opening credits start with the production companies, Columbia Pictures and Apatow. This is quickly followed by the title of the film 'Superbad'. This occurs before the names of the actors and actresses, unlike the Skyfall opening. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are the first names to appear, as they play the two main characters in the film. The other actors such as Seth Rogan and Bill Hader, then follow as they play less important roles, than Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. At the end of the names of actors and actresses, Christopher Mintz-Plasse is introduced, as he is making his film debut. Casting, Costume Designer, Co-producer and Music then follow. More behind the scenes staff follow, such as the Editor, Production-designer, Director of Photography, Executive Producers and Producers. Last of all, the writers and directors are introduced; this is also done in Skyfall.  The text also signifies the genre, as the yellow font has connotations of happiness and fun; depicting the genre as comedy. The colour of the font changes throughout, as to stand-out against the ever changing colour of the background. The size, though, is consistent throughout, apart from the title of the film. They are also fairly frequent. The graphics are entertaining, and create humour; depicting the genre as comedy. The meaning of each title is to create fun and entertain the audience. The audience's attention is grabbed through the colours and graphics of the titles. The audience should find this humorous, as the genre is comedy. I would like to use the pace of the titles, and the idea of changing colours to keep the audience's attention, and convey genre. Also it will enable us to give a persona to our film, and to our characters, if we use different colour fonts.

Sound

Superbad:

















How it works?: It enables for the audience to get into a feel good mood, as the film is a feel good comedy. Thus the audience is already in a fun mood before the film has started. Therefore, it depicts the genre of the film as comedy. The sound is non-diegetic, as it is a soundtrack nothing to do with the scene. It has been added for dramatic effect, to try and make the audience laugh.
How it made me feel?: It put me in a good mood, ready for the film. I was able to quickly recognise that the film's genre was comedy, having not watched any of the film. It made me want to carry on watching the film, and this was due to the upbeat soundtrack, that was able to put me in a good mood. I would like to incorporate a soundtrack that will help my audience, want to carry on watching my film.

Sound

Se7en:




How it works?: It creates a huge amount of tension, and depicts the film's genre as a thriller/horror. It is unusual suggesting that maybe a character in the film is too. It jumps a lot, suggesting that the films genre is thriller/horror, and a character maybe be mad. The sound is non-diegetic as it has been added for dramatic effect, and is not from something present in the scene.
How it made me feel?: It made me feel creeped out. I was able to recognise the genre, through the music, yet it made me feel uncomfortable. The sound was unique, and I wouldn't mind adding a unique track to my film.

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Preliminary Sequence






This is my preliminary sequence. I feel that it is a good first effort, yet could be better. Things we did do well was the use of different shots such as, high-angle shots and worm's eye view shots. Our use of match on action is good and clear, and is our tightest piece of editing. Our speech is clear, and creates a sense of character.

However, the speech sequence could do with a few more camera angles. We continuously use a shot-reverse-shot, yet we could include two-shots for example. At times our pace doesn't match the intensity. For example, the stair sequence is slower than the approach.

Taking this into account, I hope I can produce a better sequence for my opening sequence.

Sunday 2 March 2014

Feedback

From the internal viewings I can see that there are a view areas, of which I can pick up on. This include:

  • More creative shots during the phone call convo.
  • The text message shot could be a bit longer, to enable the audience time to read the texts. 
  • Can see the reflection of the camera-man in the car - this can be cropped.
  • The first scene, I couldn't be seen clearly.
  • Some angles were seen as confusing.
  • Clearer talking
  • Possibly reduce the noise in the background - e.g. wind and traffic
  • Extreme close up of Jono's eyes could be longer.
Me and my group, will look at these issues and attempt to improve our film. This is all good, reasonable feedback that is useful to us, and lets us know what issues we have had.