Sunday, 31 March 2013
Why We Are Doing A Remake
We doing a remake of the opening to the film Memento. We believe that by making this remake we can learn more about types of camera and technology that we will be using for our final piece, so this may further our knowledge into the technology to make our final film opening to look smooth and as real as possible.We also wanted to see what kind of shots will be used for a thriller and see what we can take forward to our piece, we can see from this that many close ups are used and this will be something we must consider. We also wanted to remake this film because we believed it may give us some ideas that we could use for our real film opening. Firstly we wanted to see what generic conventions would be used, as this is a thriller we would expect some mystery and maybe some form of weapon, which we do, the music gives off this eerie feel to the audience and also we see the man use a gun, the fact it all is edited backwards makes it even more mysterious to the audience. Something we really wanted to concentrarte and learn from making this remake was how the titles are integrated to the piece, we see that the titles are place directly infront of the camera so the audience can see but they then go away halfway through and let the scene play out, I believe that if we do make a thriller this is something we will take forward and use.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Differences Between Mainstream and Independent Films
On first glance of a film you can tell whether it is a mainstream or a independent by firstly the look of the film. An independent film will have more of a grainy look to it through the camera because it is shot in a low quality camera or on reel due to the low budget the film companies have. On the other hand we see mainstream be shot in many different new media platforms such as being shot in 3D or for IMAX cinema and nearly all mainstream films are shot in the best HD quality cameras for the best on screen look. Also by the use of shots used in independent movies are much different than shots used for a mainstream, for example independent will use much longer and unusual shots like at the start of reservoir dogs where they use a kind of high angle above everyone until a character stands up which becomes a mid for him unlike in the girl with the dragon tattoo which uses generic mid and close up shots. One thing that stands out in these opening credits is the titles look a lot more sharp in the mainstream and are integrated around the scene unlike for independent where it is integrated directly in front of the camera. A weakness to mainstream films like these are that it creates cultural imperialism meaning the limited audience awareness of other cinema, although an active audience are able to see outside this and view all kinds of niche films as well.
Another difference is in the editing in an independent we see shots held for a lot longer than usual such as in the middle in reservoir dogs whereas we see shots for mainstream held for mostly 4 seconds to make the audience stay connected to the film. Also in editing we see a difference in smoothness and CGI, for mainstream we see CGI being used in a smooth manner and great on screen visual effects and for independent we see no CGI used and how that when the clip is slowed down in editing we notice the difference from a mainstream slow due to the software being used makes the clip seem jumper and not smooth unlike in mainstream where it would be smooth.
Another difference is in the editing in an independent we see shots held for a lot longer than usual such as in the middle in reservoir dogs whereas we see shots for mainstream held for mostly 4 seconds to make the audience stay connected to the film. Also in editing we see a difference in smoothness and CGI, for mainstream we see CGI being used in a smooth manner and great on screen visual effects and for independent we see no CGI used and how that when the clip is slowed down in editing we notice the difference from a mainstream slow due to the software being used makes the clip seem jumper and not smooth unlike in mainstream where it would be smooth.
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Attracting Audiences and Theories
Film openings use certain techniques to attract the audience attention, what they will do in a film opening is introduce the character and generally where the story is going but they will mostly try to make the audience ask questions and be inquisitive on what is happening. Films will always have a specific target audience in mind while making a film, mainstream films will usually aim for more than one target audience because they want to make profits by approaching a mass audience. Whereas independent only usually have one niche audience.
Audience in engagement is how the audience feel they are involved to the piece. With generic conventions being used the audience have some forknowledge and expectations towards the genre, forknowledge is everything the audience may know from trailers or general information on the film such as actors where as expectations is what the audience will expect from the genre the film is, such as violence in an action and such. Mainstream films will use techniques like audience placement to make them feel as if the film was made for them and audience identification is also the way in which the audience feel connected to the piece. These are all techniques that I must consider if I decide to be an mainstream company.
In the Spiderman 2 opening we see these come into place, as we see the comic book feel and look to it, so it attracts the target audience of comic book and fantasy lovers. It introduces the characters and big actors ticking the boxes of audience forknowledge and expectations straight which is good for this mainstream film. It uses this special effects here for it to be appealing to a mass audience.
The BBFC distinguishes audience by a demographic group of by your job. The groups are:
A- lawyers, directors, doctors
B- teachers, artists, managers
C1- Office Supervisors, actors, floor manager
C2- Builders, receptionists
D- Part time workers
E- Unemployed
The Hypodermic Theory
This theory was developed in the 1900s after watching propoganda in WWI and WWII. The theory suggests that mass media is passed onto a mass audience, it requires the audience to be a passive audience so they consume the media, hence why it is called hypodermic needle theory because it suggests that you inject a mass audience with information passively. These passive audiences tend to enjoy the big mainstream blockbusters rather than niche films.
The audience then reflect these emotions or acts into real life, although now there is more of a active audience as film has become bigger so people enjoy decoding films this is known as the reception theory.
The Reception Theory
This theory suggests that audiences take in what is being said and look deeper into the film, almost decoding the film, as film has become majorly part of our lives, the recpetion theory is more common because people enjoy decoding films and making their own assumptions of things rather than consuming the film, these people are known as an active audience.
Active audiences are people that watch films for more than just the film, they like to make assumptions on why a director has done something in a certain scene and tend to decode storylines. These people also tend to enjoy more niche films as well as mainstream.
Audience in engagement is how the audience feel they are involved to the piece. With generic conventions being used the audience have some forknowledge and expectations towards the genre, forknowledge is everything the audience may know from trailers or general information on the film such as actors where as expectations is what the audience will expect from the genre the film is, such as violence in an action and such. Mainstream films will use techniques like audience placement to make them feel as if the film was made for them and audience identification is also the way in which the audience feel connected to the piece. These are all techniques that I must consider if I decide to be an mainstream company.
In the Spiderman 2 opening we see these come into place, as we see the comic book feel and look to it, so it attracts the target audience of comic book and fantasy lovers. It introduces the characters and big actors ticking the boxes of audience forknowledge and expectations straight which is good for this mainstream film. It uses this special effects here for it to be appealing to a mass audience.
The BBFC distinguishes audience by a demographic group of by your job. The groups are:
A- lawyers, directors, doctors
B- teachers, artists, managers
C1- Office Supervisors, actors, floor manager
C2- Builders, receptionists
D- Part time workers
E- Unemployed
The Hypodermic Theory
This theory was developed in the 1900s after watching propoganda in WWI and WWII. The theory suggests that mass media is passed onto a mass audience, it requires the audience to be a passive audience so they consume the media, hence why it is called hypodermic needle theory because it suggests that you inject a mass audience with information passively. These passive audiences tend to enjoy the big mainstream blockbusters rather than niche films.
The audience then reflect these emotions or acts into real life, although now there is more of a active audience as film has become bigger so people enjoy decoding films this is known as the reception theory.
The Reception Theory
This theory suggests that audiences take in what is being said and look deeper into the film, almost decoding the film, as film has become majorly part of our lives, the recpetion theory is more common because people enjoy decoding films and making their own assumptions of things rather than consuming the film, these people are known as an active audience.
Active audiences are people that watch films for more than just the film, they like to make assumptions on why a director has done something in a certain scene and tend to decode storylines. These people also tend to enjoy more niche films as well as mainstream.
Monday, 18 March 2013
Jelly Baby Activity
In class we had to create a timeline using jelly babies on a genre of our choice and an idea of our choice. the genre we choose was a drama aimed at middle aged females where a misunderstanding occurs. The idea we came up with for this genre is a 40 year old women in the 1940s is home alone while her husband is at war and while he comes back home to her he sees her being visited by her long lost brother, being away for so long he has no clue who he is and assumes that he has been replaced in his absence, we see the reconstruction of there relationship after this misunderstanding. This is the timeline we created for the opening to this film:
This task helped me research into more genres and ideas and also give me new ideas on how to lay out a storyboard. From this task I will take forward some more ideas of generic conventins found in genres such as a misunderstanding found in this one and how the generic conventions are shown.
Friday, 15 March 2013
Genre and Generic Conventions
Genre is a certain type of media such as comedy, horror, action etc in films we have many genres for the audience to distinguish between each of them and are able to just watch the kind of genres they enjoy or ones they don't. There can be many kinds of genres you can have a major genre which means a film that that has a dominant category, a subgenre which means a minor genre in a major genre such as a psychological thriller or spoof horror and finally a hybrid genre which means two genres merged into one like a Rom-Com.
Genres can be distinguished by its plot, camera, mood, settings and many other things but most importantly generic conventions. Generic conventions are techniques used to show the genre such as blood for a horror or love for a romance. They use signifiers which would be something like a gun for an action to show the genre straight away by that weapon because it is distinguished to that genre this is also known as semiotics meaning everything that is on screen has some kind of meaning behind it.
Generic conventions can range from themes to actual mise-en-scene, such as for a thriller a generic convention could be something such as mystery but it could also be a narrative of following a specific person because most thrillers do this.
Genres can be distinguished by its plot, camera, mood, settings and many other things but most importantly generic conventions. Generic conventions are techniques used to show the genre such as blood for a horror or love for a romance. They use signifiers which would be something like a gun for an action to show the genre straight away by that weapon because it is distinguished to that genre this is also known as semiotics meaning everything that is on screen has some kind of meaning behind it.
Generic conventions can range from themes to actual mise-en-scene, such as for a thriller a generic convention could be something such as mystery but it could also be a narrative of following a specific person because most thrillers do this.
Monday, 11 March 2013
Timeline of Film Openings
Superman
This is the opening sequence to Superman, here I am creating the title timeline:
Producer (Fly In) 0:00-006 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:08-0:14 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:14-0:20 (Fly Out)
Director (Fly In) 0:20-0:26 (Fly Out)
Superman Logo (Fly In) 0:28-0:34 (Fly Out)
Film Title (Fly In) 0:34-0:40 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:43-0:48 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:49-0:55 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:56-1:01 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:02-1:08 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:08-1:14 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:15-1:20 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:21-1:27 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:28-1:33 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:34-1:40 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:40-1:46 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:47-1:52 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:52-1:59 (Fly Out)
Actor Names (Fly In) 2:00-2:05 (Fly Out)
Actor Names (Fly In) 2:08-2:14 (Fly Out)
Production Designer (Fly In) 2:16-2:21 (Fly Out)
Photography (Fly In) 2:22-2:28 (Fly Out)
Editor (Fly In) 2:29-2:35 (Fly Out)
Music (Fly In) 2:35-2:41 (Fly Out)
Character Creators (Fly In) 2:44-2:51 (Fly Out)
Story Writer (Fly In) 2:53-2:58(Fly Out)
Screenplay (Fly In) 2:59-3:10 (Fly Out)
Creative Consultant (Fly In) 3:11-3:17 (Fly Out)
Associate Producer (Fly In) 3:18-3:24 (Fly Out)
Executive Producer (Fly In) 3:24-3:31 (Fly Out)
Producer (Fly In) 3:32-3:37 (Fly Out)
Director (Fly In) 3:38-3:44 (Fly Out)
The Fall
Producers (Fade In) 0:02-0:06 (Fade Out)
Production Company (Fade In) 0:06-0:10 (Fade Out)
Directors Company (Fade In) 0:12-0:14 (Fade Out)
Film Title (Fade In) 0:22-0:24 (Fade Out)
Actor (Fade In) 0:32-0:34 (Cut)
Actor (Fade In) 0:36-0:38 (Fade Out)
Actor (Fade In) 0:40-0:42 (Fade Out)
Actors (Fade In) 0:57-0:58 (Fade Out)
Actors (Fade In) 1:07-1:11 (Fade Out)
Actor (Fade In) 1:16-1:18 (Fade Out)
Casting Director (Fade In) 1:23-1:25 (Fade Out)
Director of Photography (Fade In) 1:38-1:40 (Fade Out)
Costume Designer (Fade In) 1:43-1:45 (Fade Out)
Editor (Fade In) 1:49-1:51 (Fade Out)
Production Desiner (Fade In) 1:52-1:54 (Fade Out)
Music (Fade In) 1:57-1:59 (Fade Out)
Co-Producers (Fade In) 2:02-2:04 (Cut)
Executive Producer (Fade In) 2:09-2:11 (Fade Out)
Executive Producer (Fade In) 2:12-2:14 (Fade Out)
Screenplay (Fade In) 2:22-2:25 (Cut)
Producer/Director (Fade In) 2:40-2:44 (Fade Out)
This is the opening sequence to Superman, here I am creating the title timeline:
Producer (Fly In) 0:00-006 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:08-0:14 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:14-0:20 (Fly Out)
Director (Fly In) 0:20-0:26 (Fly Out)
Superman Logo (Fly In) 0:28-0:34 (Fly Out)
Film Title (Fly In) 0:34-0:40 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:43-0:48 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:49-0:55 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 0:56-1:01 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:02-1:08 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:08-1:14 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:15-1:20 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:21-1:27 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:28-1:33 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:34-1:40 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:40-1:46 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:47-1:52 (Fly Out)
Actor Name (Fly In) 1:52-1:59 (Fly Out)
Actor Names (Fly In) 2:00-2:05 (Fly Out)
Actor Names (Fly In) 2:08-2:14 (Fly Out)
Production Designer (Fly In) 2:16-2:21 (Fly Out)
Photography (Fly In) 2:22-2:28 (Fly Out)
Editor (Fly In) 2:29-2:35 (Fly Out)
Music (Fly In) 2:35-2:41 (Fly Out)
Character Creators (Fly In) 2:44-2:51 (Fly Out)
Story Writer (Fly In) 2:53-2:58(Fly Out)
Screenplay (Fly In) 2:59-3:10 (Fly Out)
Creative Consultant (Fly In) 3:11-3:17 (Fly Out)
Associate Producer (Fly In) 3:18-3:24 (Fly Out)
Executive Producer (Fly In) 3:24-3:31 (Fly Out)
Producer (Fly In) 3:32-3:37 (Fly Out)
Director (Fly In) 3:38-3:44 (Fly Out)
The Fall
Producers (Fade In) 0:02-0:06 (Fade Out)
Production Company (Fade In) 0:06-0:10 (Fade Out)
Directors Company (Fade In) 0:12-0:14 (Fade Out)
Film Title (Fade In) 0:22-0:24 (Fade Out)
Actor (Fade In) 0:32-0:34 (Cut)
Actor (Fade In) 0:36-0:38 (Fade Out)
Actor (Fade In) 0:40-0:42 (Fade Out)
Actors (Fade In) 0:57-0:58 (Fade Out)
Actors (Fade In) 1:07-1:11 (Fade Out)
Actor (Fade In) 1:16-1:18 (Fade Out)
Casting Director (Fade In) 1:23-1:25 (Fade Out)
Director of Photography (Fade In) 1:38-1:40 (Fade Out)
Costume Designer (Fade In) 1:43-1:45 (Fade Out)
Editor (Fade In) 1:49-1:51 (Fade Out)
Production Desiner (Fade In) 1:52-1:54 (Fade Out)
Music (Fade In) 1:57-1:59 (Fade Out)
Co-Producers (Fade In) 2:02-2:04 (Cut)
Executive Producer (Fade In) 2:09-2:11 (Fade Out)
Executive Producer (Fade In) 2:12-2:14 (Fade Out)
Screenplay (Fade In) 2:22-2:25 (Cut)
Producer/Director (Fade In) 2:40-2:44 (Fade Out)
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