Shot list for my Preliminary Task

This is the shot list for my final Preliminary task, on the last shot, I have put the time as '- Onwards' this is because although the shots do change, the change from one medium shot to another.

The Shining, our chosen re-make

Differences in Film Openings

The film opening is important because it set the overall tone for the piece and also is the first thing your audience will see, therefore it is important to hook your audience at the beginning to therefore have their attention throughout the whole film, For example, the opening of 'Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of fleet street' the opening consists of taking the audience though important parts of the film, for example, we are taken down the shoot of Sweeney's chair, and into the oven with Mrs Lovett's pies. (Approx: 1:30 and 2:15) By using a film opening like this, it attracts audience members because they will be curious to watch the rest of the film to understand the link of the chair and the pies. This opening uses titles, which is common in film openings, and due to the typography, it doesn't take away from the story being told behind the text, for example, the typography matches the mise of the background to therefore keep the atmosphere created by the film itself and the non-dietetic music playing.


However titles do not need to be used throughout the entire opening, for example, 'The nightmare before Christmas.'  This film opening only has the titles of the company and then that of the title, therefore allowing the audience members to be fully involved within the piece from the beginning, and not having their focus taking away by the titles. Again, although there are few titles, the typography matches that of the film genre, and is brighter than the film graphics itself, therefore drawing attention just due to brightness, the use of also showing the titles on a black screen and centered, gives them importance, which establishes to audience members that they are of importance, and therefore should be looked at.



A reason why titles may not be used within a film opening is because the company thought it would be better for the audience, or for the atmosphere for the audience to just be involved within the story line, for example, the film opening above, the opening starts with a voice over setting the atmosphere and also the story, to then go straight into the main narrative, which includes a musical number. Disney may of desired not to use titles because of the musical, because it may of been a lot for the audience to take in, and therefore they wouldn't be fully focused on the musical number, or the brightly coloured titles, they would be flitting between the two, which would then take away from the narrative and atmosphere of the piece.

The Difference between Independent and mainstream

Beginning with a mainstream product, the film would of been funded by a high rating company (possibly one of the big six) meaning that the product e.g. the film would then have a larger budget, meaning open windows to using the advanced media technology (Imax or 3D)
With a bigger budget, the idea of having 'A-list' actors is on the cards because the have access to pay for them, and by doing this, they allow a higher intake with audience members and also audience interest as audience members, mostly care of who is in the film rather than what the film is about. This is the same with directors, with enough money, some of the best directors can be hired, therefore giving the company the better change of having a 'blow out' at the box office when the time comes along.

With a mainstream company, marketing is easier as you would have access to above and below the line advertising, therefore, again, having more audience awareness and advantage of the film being a success. Most mainstream films are based on a best selling novel, such as the hunger games by Suzanne Collins or the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, this is because if the books have been popular within the public, the most likely conclusion is that if films, or other media contents of the same basis were to come out, the audience would be interested and therefore willing to pay to see the film, and to buy the merchandise and so on so forth.


On the other hand with an independent film company, they run on the basis of not at much funding, and therefore a considerably lower budget compared to mainstream products. Independent films are mostly made to be simple but effective due to budget and also rely on their niche audience. The difference between a mainstream audience and a niche audience is that a niche audience is very specific to the genre of film that they like, whereas a mainstream audience will most likely watch whatever is on at the cinema.

Below the line advertising is commonly used within independent companies as it doesn't use up their budget, which then means they can work on using their budget for filming or effects. When talking about actors, 'A-list Actors' are not commonly used due to budget.

Audience Profiles

When creating a film, you must take into account what your target audience is, and also what they would like to see in the product. One of the fist steps of film making is to know who you are aiming your product at, e.g. your target audience.  You should also look at your film at the perspective of the target audience, for example, their demographics.

Demographics divide the adult population into 6 possible groups that a film company could then end up making their film for.
A- Higher management (Bankers and Doctors)
B- Middle management ( Teachers and Creative media people)
C1- Office supervisors (Nurses and clerical staff)
C2- Skilled workers, (Plumbers)
D- Semi skilled, and unskilled manual workers
E- Unemployed, students or pensioners.


An audiences demographics are questions concerning age, gender, status, occupation, income bracket, culture and also media interests. It is also good to know what type of person, socially you are aiming your product at, for example, are you aiming your product at a leader or a follower, a sociable individual or one that is recluse.


Once you have a basic idea of what your target audience entails, you should then try and consider their every day lives, that way you can then make your film closely based to their lives, for example, a single woman in her mid twenties living alone, would want to watch something similar to herself, and possibly with a love interest. You should also look at if your audience hope to gain an emotional experience from your product, e.g. 'Ps. I love you' is a love story connecting two people after death. 

Psycographics also can describe how an audience will react to the product based on personality traits.  For example.


Explorers:
They seek to be individual values and adventure, they are normally a younger demographic.

Reformers:
They seek freedom, social awareness and growth, normally attended to higher education.

Suceeders:
Normally A (Higher management) who seek survival and authority.

Resigned:
They seek discovery and energy within a piece, normally older.

Aspirers:
They look for status and also think about image, mostly seen in younger audience members.

Mainstreamers:
They want value for their money, and also come to be mostly the biggest group, they also look for security.

Strugglers:
Most likely to be disorganised, and enjoy evenings in with a good amount of food (D and E)



This will help us decide our target audience because from these lists we can now identify what audience would mostly enjoy our narrative.

How film openings attract audience members

Film openings attract an audience because they set up the tone, atmosphere and character for the overall product, for example, the film opening to 'The BFG' directed by Brian Cosgrove. The beginning of this film sets the scene and introduces characters, for instance the female protagonist 'Sophie' is introduced in a dimly lit orphanage therefore attracting audience's as this is an unlikely set up for a film.

During this we are shown different locations, such as a lonely tree and village streets, therefore keeping audiences interested and within knowledge of where the scene is set. 

 

We are also then greeted with a cloaked figure, which attracts audiences as the character is shown in dim light, and within a background that they do not clearly belong to., e.g. The figure is taller than the buildings and looks out of place.

 

 

The use of not introducing each and every character within the opening attracts audience members because it entails mystery and/or a hidden secret or something to be discovered, therefore implying that audience members will want to carry on watching to find out what happenes. 

The narrative is also very important to how to attract audience members as you want to keep them interested, for example within 'the BFG' the female protagonist is seen to be taken by the cloaked figure. This attracts audience members because they are left wondering why she has been taken, and where she will be taken.

 

 

 

Sound can also be used to attract the audience, for example if the company is mainstream, using well known songs, such as chart music, can attract audiences as they can relate to the current piece and also provide a happy atmosphere, e.g. Using 'my heart will go on' from well known film 'titanic' can be associatedwith love, therefore identifying I the audience what genre the film will be to then attract a certain type of audience, such as those who enjoy a love story.

 

The BFG' uses sound to compliment the film and add tone to certain parts within the film, or example, when the cloaked figure puts out his had and a horn appears, a light magical melody is created to envoke excitement and mystery, therefore resulting in the audiences involvement within the film. 

 

Also the use of theories, for example the uses and gratifications theory, can attract audiences as they would enjoy the film, and therefore want to see the film again for pleasure.  

Jelly Baby exercise

In this exercise we had to use the 'jelly babies' as actors on a film opening of a genre we were given ie Supernatural thriller. This exercise was a useful tool as it allowed us to understand the chronological order of how titles sequences are used in order to give the relevant information E.g. we used our first actors title on a shot dedicated to the actor himself, therefore outlining who the person is to the audience.

Here is our storyboard dedicated towards the theme of 'Supernatural Thriller' and if put into practice, shows how our opening would been shown. Our storyboard follows different characters on an average school day and their activates i.e. our supporting leads 'the couple' were to been seen embracing.

Generic Conventions in Genres

Generic Conventions change depending on genres, but are always within the genre. The generic conventions are also certain traits that the audience members will pick up on, and also accoaite with that genre, for example, a show down in a western movie.

With a horror film, The most common conventions that will be shown will be, for example you are likely to see.

Dark colours and low key lighting
A damsel in distress (Usually Blonde)
'Scary' non-diegetic music
A villain, possibly masked or 'seen in shadows'
Weapons and Death
Blood and Guts.

The Saw saga of films backs up my points, each film contains a 'death trap' of some sorts as well as blood, gore and a villain.

Also again when you are told that the media product will be that of the sci-fi genre, there are certain things the audience do expect to see. For example. 

Spaceships 

Aliens/ monsters 

Rockets 

Lasers 

High key lighting 

Futuristic setting and sound effects 

E.t shows these generic conventions and therefore can then be identified by audience members to be a sci-fi media product. 

Research on classification impacts

The classification on a film has an overall impact as it determines the audience, which could either have an increasing or decreasing effect on the overall profit intake.

If a film has been given the certification of '15' the film legally can only be seen by persons of 15 and above, meaning that companies have then missed out on the lower ages, therefore meaning the intake would not be as much, as that compared to a '12' film which can collect from a lower age. 

The certificates also have an impact on the openings of films and what they can contain, for example, if the film opening's atmosphere is perhaps sinister, and the film carries on with this atmosphere, the film possibly would be rated higher due this fact, eg, 'the chronicles of Narnia' carries an innocent storyline, but due to the atmosphere of some scenes, the film was placed at a 'PG' certificate rather then that of a 'U' certificate. 

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events title timeline (Road Drama)

Screen Play by Robert Gordon - 0:19


Based on the books The Bad Beginning The Reptile Room and The Wide Window By Lemony Snicket - 0:25

Produced by Jin Van Wyck 0:49

Executive Producer Scott Rudin 0:55

Executive Producer Barry Sonnenfeld 1:00

Executive Producers Julia Pistor Albie Hecht 1:05

Director of Photography Emmanuel Lubezki Asc, Amc 1:12

Production Designer Rick Heinrichs 1:19

Edited by Michel Kahn a.c.e 1:27

Costume designed by Colleen Atwood 1:32

 Music by Thomas Newman 1:40

Co-Producers Minor Childers Scott Aversano 1:51

Associate Producers Lina Hill 1:58

Visual Effects Supervisor Stefen Fangmeier 2:03

Visual Effects Producer Tom Peitzman 2:09

Jim Carrey 2:22

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events 2:28

Liam Aiken 2:36

Emily Browning 2:41

Timothy Spall 2:46
 Catherine O'Hara 2:51
Billy Connolly 2:58
Cedric the Entertainer 3:03
Luis Guzman 3:09
Jennifer Coolidge 3:15
Craig Ferguson 3:21
Jane Adams 3:31
Jamie Harris 3:35
And Meryl Streep 3:41
Kara Hoffman Shelby Hoffman 3:52
Jude Law as the voice of lemony snicket 3:57
Casting by Avy Kaufman c.s.a 4:03
A parkes/macdonald production 4:25
A nickelodeon Movies Production 4:31
A Brad Silberling Film 4:38

Unit production manger David Witz 4:57
First Assistant Director Michele Panelli-venetis 4:57
Second assistant director Rusty Mahmood 4:57
ILM animation supervisor Colin Brady 4:57

Classification

Today we focused on classification and how we would have to take this into account when we begin our story boards on our film opening.

The reasoning behind classification is to meet the legal requirements set in motion by higher authorities, and to protect as well as stop the risk of having influence on that of a younger audience e.g. You wouldn't take a child of two to see Texas chainsaw massacre.

The BBFC (British board of film classification) is the power behind the certifications that films are given, and also the videos/DVD's you would watch at home (Video Recording act.)

The new certification guidelines will be issued on the 24th February 2014, which is set from the 10,000 persons from the public, who asked the BBFC to rethink their boundaries on classifications.

The public asked that the classifications of '12A, 12 and 15' were to be looked at for their tome and theme e.g. the psychological disturbance in horrors. A high percentage the public thought that the use of language in U rated films had rather a lot of language that could be seen as insulting, and asked that, that language should be moved to a '15' rated film regarding the curses were in context. One of the BBFCs highest referenced classifications was that on the film 'The woman in black' which 89% of the public agreed on the classification of 12A In cinemas,  whereas 11% did not agree and believe the film should of been in the high band of '15'

Sexual content also has effected the public in the way that women are portrayed in music videos and films, the public asked for high bands, and that self harm, underage sex applied with drugs and alcohol, things that are classed as 'normalisation' to be less obvious as it could lead to influence to those of a younger age.

The classifications are as followed:

 An '18' film is to be of the viewers no younger than '18' and contains sexual content, but cannot have certain things.
- Any actions regarding the harm of others in a sexual manor, or abuse of alcohol or drugs.  Images used for the primary source of sexual arousal, as it allows accessibility to younger views. Also the use of strong fetish material could change the classification to a 'R18'

This classification is for ages 12 and above which can contain uses of sexual content, crude language and moderate violence. The use of discrimination language and/or  behaviour cannot be portrayed as a whole but can be referenced, leading on to uses of threat, a classification of '12' can have moderate physical and physiological threats, when making a '12' classification, the tone of the film should be thought about, as although some scenes could be seen as disturbing to some viewers, the overall tone of the film should not be.




The classification of 'R18' can only be shown at licenced cinemas or shops for the ages 18 and above. The use of any scenes going against criminal law, or dialogue or subtle hidden meanings to encourage sexually abusing are not acceptable for this rating, as it could encourage abusive behaviour.
















A '15' classification is suitable for ages 15 and over, and cannot be sold to those under aged.  Within this classification the uses of promotion on illegal drugs is banned along with threats of a sexual manor. When considering relatable problems of the generation such as suicide, these subjects should not dwell on detail, as it could disturb some viewers.







 The classification of 'U' is for the ages four and over, meaning that uses of discrimination or language is minimal and at best not present within the film. Within this classification, the use of violence is permitted in the form of 'slap-stick'  if used in context, this is the same sexually, reference to mild sexual activity can be shown and talked about e.g. Kissing,

                           A 'PG' classification is for ages eight and above, meaning that the film can be watched without an adult present, but it is advised for adults to watch with the child, as some scenes may distress the child. When considering language, mild language can be used if used infrequently, aspects of sexual activity can be referenced but cannot show nudity.  Uses of threat can be used, but cannot be within too much detail as it may upset the audience.    
     

 The classification of a '12A' contains the same as a '12' classification, once released from cinemas onto DVD/VCR. The only difference between the two classifications, is that with a '12A' an adult must be present when the child is watching the film in a cinematic experience.





When thinking about our film opening, we have decided to aim towards a '12' or a '15' classification because we believe with the genre we have chosen, and the idea's we are forming, it gives us enough imagination advantage, and length, but also limits us, so our ideas can be formed as well as they could be, and that their storyline makes sense to the audience, and makes them want to watch the rest of the film.

Timelines of Film opening titles

Edward Scissorhands (1990)


Twentieth century fox presents - 0:18
A Tim burton film 0:23
Edward Scissorhands 0:30
Johnny Depp 0:49
Winona Ryder 0:54
Dianne Wiest 0:59
Anthony Michael Hall 1:04
Kathy Baker 1:09
Robert Oliverl 1:14
Conchata Ferrell Caroline Aaron 1:19
Dick anthony williams O-lan Jones 1:24
Vincent Price as the Inventor 1:29
and Alan Arkin 1:34
Music by Danny Elfman 1:39
Casting by Victoria Thomas 1:45
Costume designer colleen atwood 1:50
Special makeyp and scissorhands effects produced by Stan Winston 1:55
Edited by Richard Halsey a.c.e 2:01
Production designer Bo Welch 2:10
Director of Phorography Stefan Czapsky 2:15
Excutive Producer Richard Hashimoto 2:20
Story by Tim burton and Caroline Thompson 2:25
Screenpplay by Carloine Thompson 2:30
Produced by Denise Di Novi Tim Burton 2:35
Directed by Tim Burton 2:40


SkyFall (2012)


Albery r. broccou's Eon Productions LTD presents 0:07
Daniel Craig 0:12
As Lan Fleming's James Bond 007 in 0:15
Skyfall 0:19
Staring Javier Bardem 0:24
Ralph Fiennes 0:29
Naomie Harris 0:35
Berenice Lim Marlohe 0:39
Ben Whishaw 0:42
Rory Kinnear Ola Rapace 0:45
With Albert  Finney 0:51
And Judi Dench as M 0:54
Co-Producers Andrew Noakes David Pope 1:12
Script screen righter Jayne Ann Tenggern  1:24
Sound recording Sturart Wlson 1:24
Supervisor John Higgings 1:24
Second supervisor Terry Madden 1:24
Screenplay director Chris Lowe 1:40
Set director  Anna Pinncock 1:40
Construction manager Jamie Wilknson 1:40
Location production managers Chris Brock Angus More Gordon Anthony Waye 1:46
Visual effecrs Steve Begg 1:56
Assocate Producer Gregg Wilson 1:56
Fire assistant Director Michael Lerman 2:03
Unit production managers Callum McDougall Jermy Johns 2:03
Casting Debbie McWilliams 2:08
Main titles designed by Danuel Kleinman 2:10
Special effects and minautre effects supervisor Chris Corbould 2:15
Stunt Coordinator Gary Powell 2:15
Second Unit Director Alexander Witt 2:22
Costume designer Jany Temime 2:28
Editors Stuart Baird a.c.e. Kate Baird 2:34
Director of Photography Rodger Deakina a.s.c bs 2:41
Production Designer Dennis Gassner 2:53
Music by Thomas Newman 3:00
Skyfall performed by adele written by adele and paul epworth produced by paul epworth 3:11
Executive producer callum m. dougall 3:19
Written by neal purvis and robery wade and john logan 3:26
Produced by michael g. wilson and barbara broccoli 3:34
directed by sam mendes 3:45


By doing a timeline for film titles, this will aid me when i come to my coursework within my group and to which order our titles should come in, in order for our film to look as professional as possible.

Student films (1,2 and 3)

The first student film:  psyche 

http://youtu.be/VxvNr355g-4

The use of editing within this shot shows connotations of disorder as the public are seen to be walking backwards. This also establishes to the audience themes that could be later developed within the rest of the film.

The use of mise-en-scene shows connotations of darkness and suggest a deeper meaning to many things, for example, the roof has been given a lot of screen time, which shows connotations of importance which could be explored later on within the film. 

The typography within the student film can show connotations of a clinical subject, for example the use of black text on a white background could possibly be seen as sterile. 

Student film number two: Rural Superheros 

produced by 'Gemini productions' and ' poultry pictures' 

The use of camera, and to choose a pan, works well within the opening as it reveals the characters, and allows the audience to understand and establish the setting of the film. Also the use of non-diegetic soundtrack sets the atmosphere of the film to be light hearted, for example, the track with light and 'floaty' therefore showing connotations of a genre to be lighter than that of a horror 

The use of typography fits that of genre, and also establishes to audience members who the character is played by, therefore allowing the audience to have that information clearly. 

The typography Can be seen to have connotations of a comedic nature, for example the use of colour is different to the other sub titles, therefore drawing attention, and also seems to have an effect placed on the title (eg, a glow) therefore showing audience that the title has importance, and should be looked at. Also the use of having the title on a black screen also brings it to the centre of attention to audience members, from a cinematic point of view. 

Student film number three: The edge 

http://youtu.be/24nQdBL8M3w

This student film uses their typography to be embedded into the footage itself, for example the first title appears to be attached to the building. 

The typography also shows a modern, virtual look, therefore showing connotations of youth and morse day setting, which can then establish to the Audience where the film is likely to be set.

The use of camera and the extreme close up shows connotations of the the young male protagonist to be of high importance within the film opening, and therefore having more screen time than the slightly older male antagonists seen later on within the film opening 

Again the use of camera changes from eye to eye, for example for one shot, ie, the shot above, we are seen to be shown. The narrative from the audience point of view, and another shot, Ie, the shot below shows the narrative from the characters point of view, therefore giving audience members the chance to establish the narrative from different perspectives, and therefore engaging them fully within the media product. 

Ps. I Love You (Drama)

P.S I Love You begins with the two protagonists walking down a long corridor, with the female leading, therefore already showing connotations of female dominance, which shows a non- stereotypical view on a female male relationship. When looking at camera, although the female shows dominance at the beginning, as the clip progresses, we see that the male protagonist collects more screen time whilst climbing up the stair case, therefore implying that although the female may be showing dominance, the male still carries more due to his screen time. There is a top and tale within the power slide between the two characters, e.g. (Approx: 0:28) the woman is shown in a low angle showing connotations of importance and dominance, as the male is shown in a high angle benath her on the stairs.

When looking at the dialogue, the male protagonist says the line 'I did something bad right, should I know what it is, or maybe is it just something you think I did? which shows connotations of the stereotypical male female couple having an argument, which is then seen as relatable to audience members, and therefore they are

able to understand, and/or connect with the characters and the setting a lot more. The male also says ' are you goanna' make me sleep in the bath tub again?' therefore implying that this isn't the first time they have had an argument, which adds high levels of verisimilitude that audience members can then relate to. The non-diegetic soundtrack uses the lyrical message of 'love you till the end' (Approx.: 0:57) which clashes against the argument, but sets an over atmosphere and tone of a very realistic love, and one that possibly would refer to audience members searching for that type of love (E.g. audience demographics)
'Oh I dated Timmy Harrison four months before I met you' and 'Isn't he a woman now?'  although still within the argument, changes the beginning tone to be more entertaining, so audience members understand that the film isn't all about negative  parts in a relationship, but just a relationship that can be seen with high levels of verisimilitude.

 (Approx.. 1:58) The female protagonist walks over to a white dresser with high key lighting which shows connotations of her innocence and feminine characteristics. On the other side we then see the male protagonist  at his dresser which is in low key lighting which connotes suspicion and perhaps even death, as the contrast between the two characters looks to be of black and white. Another interpretation to the black and white contrast could be that of the Ying and Yang, ie. the two characters look to be within a committed relationship, and although they do argue from time to time, they have harmony within their relationship, therefore showing the representation of Ying and Yang.

 

Film Openings

The use of typography is  important within film openings because although they are there to inform the audience, how they are presented can make or break the piece, for example, if the piece is a horror, and the titles are written in comic sans, the piece one, doesn't look professional and two, the titles takes more attention from the audience members than they should of placed and presented accordingly.
For instance, 'Sweeney Todd'
 uses the titles to look like blood, which still stays within the genre and the atmosphere of the film.






Titles may also not be used because they company decided that the opening film narrative was important for audience members to take in, and they did not want to ruin their concentration. For example, the opening to 'The lord of the rings, twin towers'