Questionnaire results

Girls

Questionnaire results

Boys

 

Opening scenes analysis

The opening titles of a film tell the audience the title of the film and is traditionally shown at the beginning. Normally the genre of the film will determine what colour scene/fonts are used, for example horror movies tend to have black backgrounds, and red fonts, as these colours link to horrors. The Fonts also tend to be quite sinister and dark, reflecting how the film will be.

The Bourne Legacy is an action packed spy film.

The titles of this film are in plain white block text, with each word being in a different level of boldness which makes it stand out more and gives it a sense of being more sophisticated. It is quite conventional of an action film to have plain white text. The black background of the title makes it stand out more. My group are doing an action film quite similar to The Bourne Legacy and we are probably going to use the same type of font as we want our film to seem as professional as possible.

The A-Team is a very well-known action film.

This title is from the most recent A-Team film

made in 2010, which is a remake starring Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson and Sharlto Copley. They have used a silver colour with the font to make it look like it is metallic which connotes guns and bullets.
The bullet holes in the writing suggests to

the audience that that this film will have guns

and violence in it which is typical of an action film.

They have also chosen to use bold military

style font making it look tough and professional.

The black background makes the title stand out

and be more in your face preparing the audience

for what might come in the rest of the film.

The opening title of the Harry Potter film series look

like they are written in an old-style font, something

which looks like it would be in an old hand-written book which reflects the theme of the film

which is magic and mystery. The font is a dark, old looking silver and the background is dark clouds, much like you would see when it's raining which will make the audience think that there is going to be a lot more serious and evil parts to this film compared to the traditional Harry Potter title which is gold. The P in the title is shaped the same as the scar on Harry's forehead which is a major plot element in the film, linking the title with the film.
The detailed and the detailed and unique title
makes it very recognizable which makes for
a great marketing tool which helps promote and
sell the film.

The film Insidious is a horror film. They used red writing in their titles as it connotes blood and evil, however some romance films do choose to use red in their titles too, but the way in which the audience is able to distinguish between the two is the font and the background. The font used in this makes it look like there are devil horns suggesting that the film will have evil and religious aspects in it. Another thing done that adds a lot of effect is the shadows on the writing from what looks to be a fire which makes it look mysterious and evil. All these aspects of the title suggest to the audience that film will be a horror.

The Blair Witch Project in my opinion, is one of the best horror movies ever created, as its simplicity is what makes it so terrifying. The films opening scene is white writing on a black background, in a way this fits in perfectly with the film as it shows how amateur the filming and editing is going to be, it also gives us the impression that the film will be recored like a home movie. As a black and white font one of the most basic editing techniques, which most people can do, proving how amature the film is.

Rec is another horror film i have chosen to analyse, as most of the film is filmed how we would like to in our opening two minutes the self-filmed amateur editing kind of look. The opening scene shows the red dot, showing the camera is recording, of which we are going to try and incorporate into our film. With a white font splattered with blood suggesting that the film may contain some dark scenes within the movie. The way the title is laid out suggests to the viewer that the upcoming film will be hand held, almost relating to a home movie.

Overview of Horror movies

Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. Horror films often feature scenes that startlethe viewer; the macabreand the supernaturalare frequent themes. Thus they may overlap with the fantasy,supernatural, and thrillergenres. Horror films often deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden fears, revulsions and terrorof the unknown. Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of anevil force, event, or personage, commonly of supernaturalorigin, into the everyday world. Prevalent elements include Ghosts, vampires,werewolves,demons,vicious animals, monsters, zombies, cannibals, and serial killers. Conversely, movies about the supernatural are not necessarily always horrific.

Women have become not only the main audience and fans of horror films but also the main protagonists of contemporary horror films. The horror industry is producing more and more movies with the main protagonist being a female and having to evolve into a stronger person in order to overcome some obstacle. This main theme has drawn a larger audience of women movie-goers to the theaters in modern times than ever historically recorded. Movie makers also go as far as to integrate women relatable topics such as pregnancy, motherhood, lesbian relationships, and babysitting jobs into their films in order to gain even more female oriented audiences.

Questionnaire

 

This is our questionnaire that we used to help us with research and planning for our film. It will help us in choosing how to produce it as to comply with what our target audience enjoys watching. We decided to use closed questions as to be able to produce quantitative data and not a range of answers.

Types of film cuts

This is a clip i found on youtube that includes a lot of different film cuts and edits that may be useful to include in our film. It gives the name of the cut followed by a brief description of what and how the cut or edit works. There are examples from many well known films to show how you could use it. After seeing this clip, we believe we will be using several techniques from it, including after action, exit shot and look off.

Camera angles and shots

This video i found explains and gives good examples of different camera angles and shots that are used in films. We have decided we will deffinitely be using a handheld shot for our film as it prevents the audience feeling secure and this good for either an action or horror film. Although because of our budget it wont be possible to use any aeiral shots or arc shots.

Camera movement and equipment

This video explains and shows some ways in which the camera moves - and why - and what equipment is needed to make it do this effectively. Due to our low budget on the film it is unlikely that we will be able to make/buy/use some of the equipment mentioned but we could try to recreate the action in order to cause a similar effect on the audience.

180 degree rule, shot sequences and lighting techniques

The 180 rule is a rule filmmakers mostly abide by in order to avoid disorientating and confusing the audience. It states that the camera cannot cut to show the same person or object from the opposite side from which they were first shown, as this messes up the direction of action and can confuse the viewer. The imaginary line of action is between a character and whatever object or person they are interacting with. Crossing this line through a straight cut can be confusing for the viewer. However, the 180 rule can be broken without confusing the viewer if the camera pans from one side of the line of action to the other in the same shot, as viewers know where they are. This is explained in more depth in the above tutorial video.

 

Institutions

Film Institutions

These are the six biggest film institutions. Film institutions are very important as they provide the money, allowing the film to happen. Without these companies, films would struggle to acquire the funding to create a blockbusting film. The companies also own studios allowing films to be made inside when needed and are also able to create brilliant sets. The only downside to film institutions funding a film is that they like to have complete control over what happens on the project, meaning it won’t always end up how you originally planned it too, However without these institutions films wouldn't be the same.

Columbia Pictures.

Columbia pictures was founded in 1919, it is one of the film studios in 'the big six'. In 1991, Sony bought part of the company and so Sony Pictures is a 'parent company' to Columbia. Another slightly less well known, but still widely appreciated company that Sony Pictures owns is Tristar Pictures. As Sony is primarily associated with gaming and electronics their film side isn't as well known. Most of their money comes from the fact that they are already such a big company so people have heard of them so will trust in them. They also do a lot of advertising for their films through their other products (such as the PS3 gaming console).
Columbia Films include: 'Spiderman', 'Men in Black', 'Gladiator', 'The Da Vinci Code', 'Quantum of Solace', 'Hancock', 'The Pursuit of Happiness', 'The Adventures of Tintin, 'The Social Network', 'Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star'.

Warner Bros studios.

The Warner Brothers studios were founded in 1903. It was formed by four brothers called the Warner brothers, and was one of the first companies to make movies with dialogue in it. They also famously started the original 'Looney Tunes', as well as many more successful cartoons. Warner Bros have a very wide range of films. They tend to make high budget movies, to make a lot of money, and their films are shown around the world. Their films appeal to a very wide range of audience as they make films from many different genres.
Warner Bros films include: 'Harry Potter', 'The Departed', 'The Dark Knight', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'P.S. I Love You', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Troy', 'Blade Runner'.

Walt Disney Pictures.

is probably the most famous film institution, mainly because most people grow up watching most of their films and TV shows. Disney are famous for their traditional family movies and cartoons but recently have made more action films for example 'Tron' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' to reach out to a larger target audience by doing something a bit more appealing to teens and adults. They also own a large number of institutions: Touchstone Pictures, Pixar, Marvel, and most recently Lucasfilm. Pixar are seen as one of the best film institutions in the world, as they consistently make excellent films. Their films are enjoyable for both children and their parents, making them a real money maker. Pixar and Marvel both stray from producing a large number of films, opting instead for taking their time with each one and increasing the quality of the films. The quality of the films aren't as high as Marvel , but are more 'fun'. This is what makes for millions of fans as everyone is on edge waiting for them to bring out the next film. Through these companies Disney manages to get a huge amount of money, and it is a big factor in their recent success.
Disney films include: 'The Lion King', 'Toy Story 3', 'The Avengers', 'Pirates of the Carribean', 'Beauty and the Beast', 'High School Musical', 'Tangled', 'Thor', 'Finding Nemo', 'Hannah Montana', 'Bambi', 'The Princess and the Frog', 'Alladin', 'A Bug's Life' .

Universal Studios.

Universal pictures is another major film institution. They have large theme parks around America which help promote their business, helping them make more money. Universal, like many over film institutions, make a large range of film genres to target a large market of people. They are another company that go hand in hand with Warner Bros and Paramount as they are all in it more for the money than for the art form of making films itself. However they don't disappoint bringing out big budget films that have been highly successful and have made many films that are seen to be classics for example 'E.T' and 'Jaws'.
Universal films include: 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', 'E.T', 'Bourne Identity', 'Despicable Me', 'Back to the Future', 'A Beautiful Mind', 'American Graffiti', 'Love Actually', 'Bruce Almighty', 'Jaws', 'American Gangster', 'Mamma Mia!', 'Jurassic Park', 'King Kong', 'Meet the Fockers', 'The Mummy'.

20th Century Fox Studios.

Finally 20th Century Fox is another very large film institution well known across the world. 20th Century Fox was one of the film institutions that started a little later compared to the other big companies. This institution is owned by a news corporation which also own the Fox television channel which helps in making them a lot of money. The TV channel has pumped out many shows that the world has loved for many years. They sometimes even make films from the TV shows they play on their channel for example 'The Simpsons Movie'. 20th Century Fox tend to make very high budget films and like many other institutions, make films for a wide range of genres. Many people criticize them and say that the company is nothing more then a logo where as other institutions have more to show for, like Universal with a theme park and Sony with its electronics. However 20th Century Fox are still a widely well known institution.
Famous 20th Century Fox films include: 'Avatar', 'Star Wars', 'Independence Day', 'Home Alone', 'X-Men', 'The Simpsons Movie', 'Ice Age', 'I, Robot', 'Marley and Me', 'Taken', 'Minority Report', 'Prometheus', 'Die Hard', 'Speed', 'Alien', 'Eragon', 'True Lies', 'Titanic', 'Moulin Rouge!', 'Road to Perdition', 'Night at the Museum', 'Austrailia'.

Paramount Pictures.

Paramount was founded in 1916. Steven Spielberg is a major partner with Paramount as he is one of the leading film directors in Hollywood and this is a major contributor to Paramount’s success as he has many fans and followers who will watch anything he puts out, making most of his films instant money makers. Paramount are ranked as one of the highest-grossing film studios in the world. As with Warner Bros, they make a very wide range of films which targets many different audiences with each film.
Paramount films include: 'Titanic', 'Transformers' 'Indiana Jones', 'Iron Man', 'Forrest Gump', 'War of the Worlds', 'Mission Impossible', 'Shutter Island', 'Paranormal Activity'.

Jaws

Jaws is a 1975 American horror film about a shark that attacks beach goers at a fictional beach side town, and follows the shark hunters and scientists that try to capture it. The film opens with a couple going skinny dipping in the sea early in the morning. Both characters are young, appealing to the horror genres target audience of teenagers by helping them relate to the events onscreen. The fact the scene is set so early in the morning when the sun has hardly risen suggests the characters have been out all night, which also appeals to the target audience as they like to imagine themselves taking part in a all night events. The scene also opens with establishing shots of the beach and the sunrise, which also introduces the male character who is shown in the foreground. The audience can connote he is unintelligent but sociable, a typical 'jock' character which is a genre convention of a lot of teenage horror films. We see these characteristics displayed by the characters clumsiness, falling down a sandy bank as he runs after the girl but also his good humoured nature shown through his speech. He says "I can swim! I just can't walk, or dress myself," which refers to his falling over and struggle to get his clothes off.

The second establishing shot we get is a long shot of the beach leading on to the sea. The girl runs from the camera to the sea and dives in, then starts swimming away. The girl seems to be having fun, as we can tell through her body language. We have a close-up of the girl, although she is still not fully visible due to the dark lighting of the shot. The non-diegetic sound of seagulls also lets the audience know this is a sunrise, not a sunset. We then have a shot of the girl swimming from under the water. We know this is from the sharks point of view and the scene is suddenly made tense. The non-diegetic music that begins with this shot helps create the tension, as it features very slow ominous and deep tones. Another shot shows the camera creeping slowly towards the woman from under the water as she floats there kicking her legs. These shots are very long and drawn out to bring the film to a painful slow speed to increase the anticipation of the audience. The background music slowly changes into a variation of the sound motif of the shark. The tense tones lead up to the sharks attack of the woman.

The pace of the shots quicken as soon as the woman is attacked to show the pace of the action and the threat and speed of the shark. The woman is dragged under the water and then thrashed around violently by the shark as she screams for help. Juxtaposed shots between the terrifying situation the girl is in to the calm relaxed situation of the boy lying drunk on the beach makes the girls shots seem more dramatic. After more close-ups of the girl screaming for help and mid-shots tracking her movements through the water, she is suddenly dragged underneath the surface. Her screams and the loud tension music cut off abruptly as soon as she is out of sight, and the shot ends with 3-4 seconds of silence just showing the slow movements of the waves. This shows how quickly things seem to return to normal again after the attack. This works to make the threat of the shark seem greater, as its victims vanish without any trace. The fact we never actually see the shark throughout this opening scene also makes it more frightening, as this plays on audience’s fear of the unknown. This also builds anticipation for the reveal of the shark later on in the film.

18

 

 

Only adults are admitted. Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and explicit sex references along with detailed sexual activity are also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context. Very strong, gory, and/or sadistic violence is usually permitted. Strong sexual violence is permitted unless it is eroticised or excessively graphic.

15

  

Only those over 15 years are admitted. Nobody younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, frequent strong language and limited use of very strong language, strong violence and strong sex references, and nudity without graphic detail. Sexual activity may be portrayed but without any strong detail. Sexual violence may be shown if discreet and justified by context.

12

 

Home media only since 2002. 12A-rated films are usually given a 12 certificate for the VHS/DVD version unless extra material has been added that requires a higher rating. Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. The content guidelines are identical to those used for the 12A certificate.

12A

 

Cinema only. Introduced in 2002. Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Those aged under 12 years are only admitted if accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 years, at all times during the motion picture. However, it is generally not recommended that children under 12 years should watch the film. Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, infrequent strong language and moderate violence, sex references and nudity. Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Sexual violence may be implied or briefly indicated.

Parental guidence.

All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for young children. May contain mild language and sex/drugs references. May contain moderate violence if justified by context (e.g. fantasy).

 

Universal

All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children.

Indiana jones, raiders of the lost ark.

In the opening two minutes of raiders of the lost ark Indiana Jones the shot that establishes the main character is the long shot when you can see his silhouette in front of all the other characters, in the long shot that shows him in front of the rest of the group connotes confidence in what he is doing. the group that are following Indiana Jones are wearing dirty and torn clothes where'as Indiana is wearing tidy and practical clothing this shows that Indiana is well equipped for what he is doing.
The setting is a rural location an exotic location that is a main convention of an action adventure genre. the diegetic sounds that are in the jungle to create the scene are the noises of birds, bats and the swish of the machetes held by the men that are following Indiana also some screaming in the background that helps create tension with the non diegetic sounds and music that starts to get sinister as the characters start to find clues to this enigma that is created as the characters are walking. they are constantly looking behind them to see something that isn't there.
when one of the men sees a statue and then runs of screaming Indiana Jones walks over to it calmly then looks of into the jungle and starts walking faster like he knows what he is doing. as they progress there is a close up shot of a dart in the tree this shows us that they are not alone in the jungle so it adds even more enigmas to the story. Indiana walks over to the dart and pulls it from the tree again like he knows what he is doing, very calmly walks on as the remaining followers hesitate to follow. we are finally shown the location and told the time of this event as an

Preliminary task evaluation.

During our preliminary task, we included several shot types shot reverse shot, tracking shot, match on action and several medium and close up shots. we choose to film in the library because we could film myself entering the library through the door and meeting the actor sitting down then me sitting down. the shot used toi film me enetering the room was a medium shot. we could have then had a close up shot of my hand pushing open the door this would have successfully achieved a match on action shot. there was a close up shot of the other actor to show what he was doing. when the two actors are having a convosation the reverse shot. we also used a zoom, panning shot at the begining of the task this is used to show the audience who the main character is and to show some of the setting.

Preliminary task.

Target audience of a romance

Most Romantic films are targeted at females and are usually rated 12 or 15 meaning that the target audience age generally ranges from 12 -24. As part of our research into the target audience of romantic films we gave our questionnaires to people who we considered to be part of the target audience (young females) and also some who are not in the target audience to see why those in the target audience enjoy romantic films and why those who are not do not enjoy these films.

Codes and conventions of a romance film

Target audience of an action film.

Depends on what type of action movie it is. Something like Mission Impossible III is aimed at an older audience, and more towards the male population (with the extensive action sequences, etc.). Same thing with the Matrix trilogy. Generally, action films are geared towards the young male adolescent age group, because, men tend to like action movies more than their female counterparts. The age certificate of an action film is usually 12-18 this covers a wide range of viewers.

Codes and conventions of a action

·         12-15 certificates. Maximizing youth audience.

·         Often hybridized with sci-fi/adventure/romance.

·         Major Hollywood studio produced and distributed.

·         High production value including CG I.

·         Fast paced editing.

·         Predictable chain of events cause and effects.

·         Dramatic non diegetic sound.

·          More narrative action codes than enigma codes, clear binary oppositions.

·         Star marketing: audience identification/expectations. (Tom cruise/brad Pitt Uma Thurman/Leonardo DiCaprio.)

·         Romantic sub-plot, humorous dialogue.

·         Relationships with new technology (youth audience)

·         Use of close up. 
 

Technical camera shots:

·         A low lighting on the evil characters.

·         Fast paced cuts

·         Extreme close up shots of the characters faces and expressions.

Symbolic:

·         Blood on the body to show that they have been close to drama.

·         The characters start with immaculate clothes then at the end of the film their clothes are scruffy and torn this is a symbol of their situation.

Written and audio:

·         Fast paced and dramatic music to help the tense moments to create suspense.

·         Music to suit the character.

·         Non-diegetic- dramatic music

·         Diegetic- explosions and other sounds that the characters can hear.

Target audience for a horror.

A horror films target audience is generally those in the age group 15-25. It is mostly aimed at men as they are more likely to be able to interact with the characters on screen. Women can interact with those on screen to but they would tend to react differently.

Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears.Horror films often deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage, commonly of supernatural origin, into the everyday world. Prevalent elements include ghosts, aliens, vampires, werewolves, demons, vicious animals, monsters, zombies, cannibals, and serial killers. Conversely, movies about the supernatural are not necessarily always horrific.

Codes and conventions of a horror.

·         Three act narrative structure.

·         Predictable narrative content.

·         Clear binary opposition’s e.g. good evil.

·         Low key lighting.

·         Dominant representation of gender male villain female victim.

·         Extensive use of close up point of view shots low angle shots.

·         Use of hand held camera.

·         Teens/young characters.

Goodfellas opening analysis.

The opening scene of Goodfellas works to quickly set the tone of the entire film to the audience and gives us some expectations of the film. This film includes genre conventions of crime fiction, thriller, drama and biographical film, as it is based on the real life events surrounding the Lucchese crime family between 1955 and 1980. The opening shot acts as an establishing shot, tracking a car on its journey down the road at night. The darkness of the scene sets the mood of suspicious activities so this gets the audience thinking about what the characters may have been doing.  After setting the scene as taking place in New York in 1970, the next shot is inside the car.

There are 3 characters in the car. Here the primary focus is on the driver who takes most of the space up on the shot. This signals to the audience that this character is of great importance to us and the storyline, and this makes the audience focus on him. This is a short shot, and deals with the characters reactions to a thumping noise they hear whilst driving. The costumes of the characters show us they are relatively wealthy or operate in the business world, as they are wearing suits. This also reinforces the time the scene is set in to the audience, with the hair styles and costumes clearly belonging to the past. After speculating on whether the driver hit something or picked up a flat tire, they come to a conclusion that is not yet revealed to the audience and decide to pull over.

The next shot is a mid-shot of the characters approaching the boot of the car. They seem hesitant to open it up as the thumping continues, with one character pulling a large knife out of his inside jacket as they do so. This is the moment the audience realises these are not ordinary men, and perhaps live a violent and criminal life. These suspicions are confirmed when the boot is opened to reveal a bloodied man tied up with half of his body in a bag. The man with the knife doesn’t hesitate in violently stabbing the man repeatedly after showing annoyance at the man still being alive. This shows the audience the violence these men may impose, but also shows they must be experienced in criminal activities as they were calm and controlled on the car journey even though they thought they had a dead body in the boot. After the repeated stabbing another one of the characters pulls out a gun and shoots the man 4 times to ensure his death. This suggests a certain air of professionalism in what they do.

The final shot of the scene starts off as a mid-shot of the driver before zooming in to a close-up shot. A narrator says "as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster." This dialogue suggests the "gangsters" of the shot enjoy what they do. This gives us a lot of information on these characters. Clearly they have no morals or fear of the law and are more than likely impulsive, unpredictable characters as they must be slightly crazy to treat such a bad crime so lightly. We can assume this is the driver speaking as the shot remains still on his face for a long period of time whilst the narrator talks and the opening music kicks in. The music that begins seems to treat the darkness of the scene with a feeling of levity.