Theorist- Levi- Strauss

Binary opposition

In the mid-20th century, two major European academic thinkers, Claude Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes, had the important insight that the way we understand certain words depends not so much on any meaning they themselves directly contain, but much more by our understanding of the difference between the word and its 'opposite' or, as they called it 'binary opposite'. They realised that words merely act as symbols for society's ideas and that the meaning of words, therefore, was a relationship rather than a fixed thing: a relationship between opposing ideas.
For example, our understanding of the word 'coward' surely depends on the difference between that word and its opposing idea, that of a 'hero'.  http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/popups/opposition.htm,

Now I understand what binary opposition means it's basically the complete opposite for example night and day, girl and boy, villain and hero. For my film, I need the gender opposites and I want the villain to be a man and the victim to be a woman. I want the happy section to be filmed during day/ evening time, and I want the scene where she wakes up early in the morning so that is a binary opposition in itself, also I want a binary opposition in the moods for example, it starts off peaceful and happy and then progresses and switches to a tense quite scary mood. 

Make-up #2

http://prezi.com/yr9wwxzvq6m8/present/?auth_key=68nps9z&follow=klzjkqfw0rr4

On this prezi presentation I have summed up very basically what I want to use as my make-up for the protagonist and why, with a picture that I chose as my influence.

Sub genres

Me and Emma, have been discussing the film that we are making, and our ideas we have discovered that they do take on a rather mysterious thriller type film, we want the mysterious element to come in to draw the audience in within the first two minutes, we're planning on doing this by not showing the 'kidnapper' at all except certain things like the silhouette of his body (We would prefer a man as it makes the female look even more venerable, but due to casting problems and males not being available or not wanting to participate in this film, we may have to make it a female kidnapper) and also the hands of the kidnapper as this will give the audience a sense of what gender this person is, so it's a bit of an enigmatic opening which I think would really draw an audience in as that is personally what would draw me in as a viewer. I would also like natural sounds of the sea to open it then eery string/ piano music to set the mood for this opening, I think that would really work and set the mood and allow the audience to realise the genre

Genres

Theorist- Barthes

Barthes' Enigma code:

Barthes' Enigma Code is a theory that suggests a text (whether that be

television, film, a poster etc) portrays a mystery to draw an audience in, pose 

questions and, become intrigued in the piece. For instance, a murder

mystery will often not reveal the identity of the murderer until the end of the

story, which poses the question "Who is the murderer?

I think that this is generally used if a film is going to have a sequel to it, 
which leaves the audience guessing so a result they are more interested in 
what the next film may involve so as a result more inclined to go see the next
film in the sequel. I think that enigmas work really well in mysterys and sometimes horror and sci-fi films but, for comedies, romances, western etc. I don't think that it really suits the film as it adds mystery to the film which doesn't really go along with the genre of the films. If I did an entire film for this project I would make it have an enigmatic ending as I think that I would class my film as a thriller-mystery-horror film. So I would follow Barthes' engima code. 

Theorist- Propp

He also concluded that all the characters could be resolved into 8 broad character types in the 100 tales he analyzed:

1. The villain — struggles against the hero.
2. The dispatcher —character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
3. The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
4. The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. the hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
5. Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.
6. The donor —prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
7. The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
8. False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.
   
   Trying to figure out in which film who plays what part is actually a lot more difficult than originally thought, some are obvious others aren't. I tried to figure out who each character was from 'Tangled' the Disney film.
   
   1. The villian- Her mother- The old woman fake mother, (mother gothel) she keeps the flower for herself, she cuts Rapunzels hair off, keeps her locked in a tower and doesn't let her out. She has eery piano music playing in the background of the scenes indicating to the audience that she is evil.
   2. The dispatcher- I don't think that anyone in this film really fits this label, she decides herself that she wants to leave the tower to go see the lanterns which her true parents let off, so they might be the dispatchers in a distant way, or Paschal the chameleon indicated to her often to leave so I would say that he was the dispatcher, but I can't decide  
   3. The helper (magical)- Her hair helps her and others get out of dangerous situations, and also the horse Maximus helps her and Flynn out later on in the film. I would class Maximus the horse as the helper for this film, he also has trumpet like music sort of like army music playing indicating to the audience that he is brave and loyal. 
   4. The princess or prize- Rapunzel- She gets stolen at birth, she gets locked in a tower for the rest of her life and doesn't meet her real parents or see any of the world that is not from her view from her window, she is trapped. She married later on to Flynn- who I believe is the hero.
   5. Her father- I do not know who is the 'father', I could not work it out. 
   6. The donor- The only reason Flynn came across the tower is because of 'the lost princess' tiara' which was stolen by the two men Flynn's former cohorts. So I would say to some extent these two characters were the donors
   7. The hero- Flynn Rider, he climbs up the tower and accidently gets envolved with this girl Rapunzel and is forced to take her to see the floating lanterns, he rescues her from her life of loneliness, imprisonment and over the journey they fall in love, and eventually get married.
   8. The false hero- In a way I think that Mother Gothel is the false hero as she tries to convince the princess that she was just protecting her but really she was using her for her own gain.
   
   
   
   I tried out Propps theory on this Disney film to see if it was needed and still happens 30 years after he had figured this out. I think that this does actually happen in the majority of films, the eight different characters are set out, but I also think that not all the characters are easy to label into these categories. In my film, I think that I would like to include these 8 characters to fit in with the norms of film making and make a semi-successful film, but, as I am only making the first two minutes of my film, I cannot include all eight in the first two minutes

Theorist- Gustav Freytag

GUSTAV FREYTAG 

According to Freytag, a drama is divided into five parts, or acts, which some refer to as a dramatic arc: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement.

Although Freytag's analysis of dramatic structure is based on five-act plays, it can be applied (sometimes in a modified manner) to short stories and novels as well. Nonetheless the pyramid is not always easy to use, especially in modern plays such as Alfred Uhry's "Driving Miss Daisy", which is actually divided into 25 scenes without concrete acts.

Exposition or Introduction

The exposition provides the background information needed to properly understand the story, such as the problem in the beginning of the story.

Rising action  During rising action, the basic internal conflict is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist's attempt to reach his goal. Secondary conflicts can include adversaries of lesser importance than the story’s antagonist, who may work with the antagonist or separately, by and for themselves or actions unknown, and also the conflict.

Climax

The third act is that of the climax, or turning point, which marks a change, for the better or the worse, in the protagonist’s affairs. If the story is a comedy, things will have gone badly for the protagonist up to this point; now, the tide, so to speak, will turn, and things will begin to go well for him or her. If the story is a tragedy, the opposite state of affairs will ensue, with things going from good to bad for the protagonist. Simply put, this is where the main part happens or the most dramatic part.

Falling action

During the falling action, which is the moment of reversal after the climax, the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. The falling action might contain a moment of final suspense, during which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt. Summary: The falling action is that part of the story in which the main part (the climax) has finished and you're heading to the resolution.

Dénouement, resolution, or catastrophe

The dénouement comprises events between the falling action and the actual ending scene of the drama or narrative and thus serves as the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. Simply put, dénouement is the unraveling or untying of the complexities of a plot.

The comedy ends with a dénouement (a conclusion) in which the protagonist is better off than at the story's outset. The tragedy ends with a catastrophe in which the protagonist is worse off than at the beginning of the narrative. More modern works may have no dénouement, because of a quick or surprise ending. An example of modern elaborate dénouement is The Lord of the Rings

Emotion shots

These pictures are a few examples of expressions and emotions that I would like my actors to show, the picture at the very top is a mug shot, but to me, I think that the eyes partially closed, mouth not doing anything and a feel of relaxation in the face looks like a extremely drunk persons face, I would like for my actor to try and recreate this mug shot. 

I would like to use a shot very similar to this as I think it really captures the actors emotion which I really would like for one of my scenes that I have thought of; which is when the girl wakes up in this unfamiliar house in which she has been kidnapped and trapped there, but in my film I would change the lighting to very dark maybe just the natural light through windows and the light emitted from the camera already, I would have a background of the house looking rather bare with a few normal household items but, I want the lighting to be so     dark that you can barely see the background only her face in a close-up shot. 

Make-up

EYES

 My make-up  idea was to have the girls having party style make-up rather than natural, so a smokey eye look I think would work really well, I think this because it gives the impression that these girls have made an effort to look nice and attractive for this night and also, it would work well if I got the actors to cry(or use water) as the make up would run down their face which emphasises the sadness and shock of the event. The eye-liner and a bit of black eye-shadow underneath the eye will help with this effect.

LIPS

For the lips I think that Hannah my protagonist should be wearing red lipstick as this signifies danger and sexiness and Alice should be wearing bright pink as this is a very party like colour to be wearing which I think sums up the night for Alice, it's all a big party, nothing bad happens to her directly she leaves Hannah on her own and goes home so the night for her is a big party but it's the days after that, that are far from a party but that will never be shown on screen so it doesn't matter... I like the look of the smoke coming from the bright red lips, the only problem with that is the fact I wish to film outside, and Hastings' weather isn't one in which there is no wind, so unless I find a non windy spot this will be impossible to film well as I wouldn't have the clearness of the smoke and it would just look very amateur, this would tie in with the tobacco pouch prop.  

Costume/ Props

Costume-
Costume that I think we need for the Protagonist-Hannah, of opening section of my film would be either black or red in colour; red to signify danger as that is what red stereotypically represents also, if it's red it gives the audience an indication that something sexual might occur during this film, consented or not. I think that black would work well as it signifies mystery which is what I want for my opening, I do not want the audience to be able to sum up the entire film just by watching the first two minutes of it, black is also a rather evil colour showing that either Hannah will be evil or be effected by something or someone evil. I've done some research and it is also believed by 'fashion experts' that black as a colour worn by woman implies submission to men which I found very interesting and thought fits in well with what my film will be about. I think that what she wears will have to show the season of the year so she cannot be too exposed but, then I have to take into consideration the fact that her and her friend are going on a night out so have to look dressed up-dress, heels, hair done, make-up; but also a jumper or something just so it doesn't look obviously fake to my audience.
    I think that I would have my other character- Alice, wearing anything really in this first scene I don't think it really matters that much as she isn't the main focus of this opening Hannah is, but if I was to give my actor a colour to wear I think that I would choose blue, my reasoning for this is, the fact I'm setting it in Hastings which is a seaside town so the blue would represent the ocean, blue is known as a cold and depressing colour which may impact upon the audience and it might get an even better response out of them that it originally had; Fashion consultants say that blue represents loyalty which I think contrasts with my opening and Alice leaves Hannah which might actually work well. I would have Alice wearing similar clothes to Hannah but, a bit toned down as I don't want her to be the main focus of these scenes. 


Props-
The props that me and Emma have decided to use are-
-alcohol bottles- to show that these girls are highly intoxicated and as a result unaware of what they are doing and what their surroundings are.
-tobacco pouch- stereotypical thing that goes along with drinking.
-hand bag- containing personal belongings- purse, phone, keys, ID. This I would bring in later in the film as the person who retrieves the bag can find out a lot about whoever lost it, adding a twist to the film possibly?  

My opening.

I have planned my opening to the film, approximately 35 seconds worth. I will open the film with a long shot of the sea and the sounds of the sea side will slowly fade in, then the titles will come in, stay for approx. 5 seconds and then fade out and then the shot will just stay as the long shot but pan left and hold it for 2 seconds and then go back to the centre for another 2 seconds the pan right and hold it for 2 seconds then cut to a mid/long shot of the two girls with alcohol  their shapes silhouetted somehow, either through editing processes or through the natural light- depending on the time the scene is shot; it will then cut to a mid shot of the waves crashing against the shore for about 3 seconds then with editing software I will make these waves reverse and then the scene will cut straight to a bit of 'animation' with the shoe pictures as  (which I have previously uploaded the images of) dancing, as soon as the scenes change from the waves to the shoes, as soon as the shoes come on screen the soundtrack will start instantaneously, the shoe scene I picture to be roughly 6 seconds long. After I have made the pictures of the shoes look like they are dancing I will cut it to the two girls dancing along the street and the main character (protagonist) do the feet actions that are done on the sequence I create when I edit the shoes. This takes up roughly 30 ish seconds of my film, this is all that I have envisioned in my head at the moment, I may decide to change my mind again however due to the fact this involves a lot of editing and I'm not very capable of editing as I am new to the programme we are using. 

examples of shots

Here, me and Emma, did a little tester for a bit of almost animation by making these shoes which are 'Hannah's' dance, this will look almost comedic providing a bigger contrast in moods for the more shocking scenes later to come, I am not sure whether to use these shots yet due to the fact it doesn't really show off anything I have learnt in my media lessons to do with shots or anything it just shows off my editing skills, I think it will work well if I do it right, but, it may not flow with the film entirely so I will have to test it out when it comes to the actual editing process.

Problems already come across

We went out and did our filming and we had some technical difficulties as in the tripod didn't work (one of the legs wouldn't lock), the battery died after a few hours, the lighting wasn't quite right in some places due to the time that we decided to film, we also didn't bring any of our notes or storyboard down to the place in which we was shooting so we had to try and remember what shot went where and what each shot involved which proved to be very difficult. We didn't have the money to book a camera or tripod so we used Emma's tripod which as previously said didn't go to plan, and we had to borrow a friends camera also, which didn't give us the clearness of a shot taken from a processional filming camera so a few of our shots look a bit 'grainy' but that may work well with the drunken shots. To make sure we do not come across these technical problems again we plan on charging the camera up fully, taking spare batteries depending on what battery it takes, hire out a proper tri-pod and double check everything with it works properly, and hire out a good professional film camera.
      Our actors weren't very good, it may be as it was their first time with this role or it might be because we as directors weren't very informative as we wasn't too sure on our exact plan we only had a brief outline of an idea, so me and Emma as a team are making a decision as to whether we keep this cast or we change and re-start all the shots; it would be simpler just keeping the same cast and add to our already existing shots, but, it's when we can meet up discuss who to change acting wise, who would be comfortable with doing a piece like this and when we all have free time to do some filming. 

Casting

Today we went out and did our first bit of filming for our two minute opening to our film. We chose two of our friends to be our actors as we knew it wouldn't be awkward ordering them about and it wouldn't be embarrasing for them to be acting in front of me and Emma. 

Our actors-

 

Olivia Baird-Piper playing HannahHannah is a normal average 16 year old girl, she likes to go out and socialise with her friends and by doing so she gets drunk. In this film Hannah, gets a little bit too drunk and gets taken but, who by?!  Hannah is the protagonist of my film. What I wish to portray through this character is the vulnerability of the young and intoxicated and that everyone is at risk even in a seemingly empty area. I plan to use handheld camera shots to show that Hannah is infact very drunk, also, when it comes to editing I will get a few shots as if they are from Hannah's viewpoint and use the dissolve tool so it makes the shots go in and out of focus. I'm planning on using shots that are at her level or above- if they are at her level then she will be doing the the normal get thing and if the shot is above her from a high angle it adds to the vulnerability of the character. 

                          Rhiannon Nother Carter playing the role of Alice. 
Alice is Hannah's best friend, who deserts her on the drunken night in which she gets taken, she doesn't play that big a part in the opening but, later on in the film I think I'd like to make her more relevant; possibly by her helping Hannah escape or hide?

Brief outline.

The screenplay for the opening two minutes, I don't particularly want any dialogue, but, if I'm going to include speech I would chose to add in a voice over, over the choice of music that I would like to use. My choice of music would be an upbeat party song, to show that Hannah is having a good time, and it also provides me with an even bigger contrast in atmosphere when it changes and she is somewhere else with no sound apart from herself and the footsteps of another.

I want the sound of waves crashing against the shore, whilst the image of waves crashing against the shore is being shown. Then it being cut to the underground car park which is when the music would start if I have music; then the shots of the two girls getting drunk having fun, then the last image of Hannah in this random place that the audience are going to be completely unaware of.

I'm planning on using mid shots and close ups mainly with a few long shots, extreme long shots, I will also incorporate panning and tracking into it.

Storyline

For me I want the storyline of the entire film to be about this one girl; Hannah. and about how she is normal, goes out gets drunk with her friend, her friend wanders off and leaves this girl laying on the floor, she is passed out, then she wakes up and finds herself in a place she has never seen before, completely out of her comfort zone, she panics, and there is someone else in the house, the film is about what happens to her in this house, how she escapes, and if she escapes forever. 

Grain of sand.

Grain of sand.http://vimeo.com/29780909


This is yet again a film directed by Oliver Hollingdale; I have chosen to write about this because I really like the opening from 18 seconds to 1 minute, this beach scene is what I generally wanted in my film, as the beach is an iconic thing for Hastings, and it gives a sense of setting whilst also looking quite artistic with the reflections in the water; I think that this almost reversal of the waves crashing would work well in my film as I'm showing a flashback to the night before so then this would symbolise going back in time whilst allowing me to give a sense of setting and natural sounds. I don't really like the rest of the short film as it is all a bit too si-fi for me, and that is not my personal preference, I do however think that the editing for this film is so well done and all the light shining through actually looks rather natural as if it should and is actually there not just edited in.
 From this short film, I am going to steal the idea of the beach and the waves crashing as I think that it looks rather artistic and gives a feel of art involved also.

Sounds

Sounds in opening sequences.

If there is no sounds whatsoever, it builds up tension but, it also allows the audience to get distracted, so it is always a good choice to include some sounds, even if just the natural sounds of the setting that you are filming at or an actual song. If you chose to use a song I think it adds to the genre of the film, but, it also makes you as a director make a personal decision to a song choice, so it would have personal preference behind the song choice, and not everyone shares the same choice in music taste so music can put a genre barrier on it.
 For my film, I think it's going to be difficult to find an already made song to use, as we wont really be able to get permission from the artist, so we may have to just use the natural surrounding sounds, or get a friend with musical talent to create something for the two minute opening scene.
Because our opening scene we want to show a girl getting drunk having a nice night and then waking up somewhere else on her own and that's what I want to end the opening at, I think there should be a voice over perhaps of the two girls laughing at the beginning and then the sounds fading into the sound of the girl coughing, retching and throwing up and other disgusting noises the drunk make.

Trainspotting

Trainspotting (1996)

*Directed by Danny Doyle- Who also directed Slum Dog Millionaire
*The films age rating is an 18
*The publishing companies are Polygram (which is a British company) and Channel 4 films

This film is set in Edinburgh in the 90s; The economic situation at this time was high unemployment much like today's current economic climate.

The first two minutes:
*Series of shots- these establish the setting and character; at the beginning the directer uses a mid pan backwards shot, this makes you as an audience member feel as if you are running with the actor, also his voice comes in on the voice over which also makes you feel more like you are there. There is also a shot used that I particularly like which is a mid shot of the boy and the shot is framed naturally with the arch way, this I think looked very artistic. The director also chose to do shots from the ground level up this makes the character look almost heroic.

*The soundtrack- It's a song of that period which emphasises when it was set, it's an upbeat fun 'party' song. The general sounds of the street come in before the visual actually does, this gives the sense that things in the story have happened before hand to cause whatever we're about to see.

*Genre- I assume that it is a British gritty comedy from the song choice used, the font was simplistic yet a bubbly-ish font, indicating the age of the characters and also there is a hint to the comedic side of the film, a few of the shots done are generally funny, but I get the sense of the grittiness through the looks of the actors, the lighting choice made by the director- it is very dark, dingy and also quite creepy.

*Lighting- Looks natural; shadows are formed on walls-  which I believe adds to the gritty side of the genre, as the shadows look quite grim and sinister. The lighting is generally dark, this may be as it's night time, but the some of the shots are inside so it's hard to tell.

This film is a representation of childhood/ young adults in Edinburgh in the 90s; and for me as a young adult myself it's quite over done, I feel that people would get the impression that all the kids in Edinburgh behave in this way when only a rare selection of kids in the entire country do act in this manner. To me though I think that it portrays quite a fun party like atmosphere with the alcohol, smoking, friends, laughing; It seems like an enjoyable thing to be doing as a person of that age. It also looks like all kids are energetic with the football and the running. I also get think that these kids are actually quite poor, as they look grotty, the setting looks grotty in the building and the lighting throughout the opening two minutes is very dark and dingy.

The director chose to use a typical British sport of football. This lets you know that it is set in a British town.


This film has a vintage/retro feel to it, with the colours chosen, the soundtrack, the lighting and the costumes worn. This might make the film a bit more specialised for a certain audience. The front of the DVD cover also has this vintage feel, with the orange band across the bottom and the white background, it's simplistic yet still not like many other DVD covers. Also the fact that the picture is the wrong way round (on it's side not vertical- horizontal.) This is different from the rest of the DVD covers which would make it stand out to anyone who walked by it, but, I think this was a risky choice  but, I personally really like it. I think a few people may disapprove this choice and see it as pointless, I think that it is representing the fact the the film isn't any regular film, it's about things that aren't normal. Also the film is about drugs, so it might represent the fact that whilst on the drug the characters may feel like they're the wrong way round, or that drugs turn your life of it's side and as a result drugs are actually bad?

Icons/ Symbols.

We decided to look for icons/symbols that represent that this is a British/ Hastings film. We came up with-
-Food- Fish and chips
          Scones
-Drinks- Tea
            Gin
            Pimms
            Bitter- Beer
-The seaside- Beach
                    Pier
                    Seagulls
                    Ice-cream
                    The rides
-Religion- The Church
               Stain glass windows
-The monarchy- The Queen
-Money-pennies, pounds, notes with queens face on
-Teen pregnancies
-Underage smoking, drinking and sex.


We've decided to incorporate these in our film as much as possible to give the audience a sense of setting and British culture

More film research.- ZOI

http://player.vimeo.com/video/32641284?autoplay=1


This film called 'ZOI' produced and directed by Oliver Hollingdale, starring James Camp and William Camp, is very different from the other films in which I have researched partly due to the fact, it had no funding, is a different style from all the rest as it is actually a short film, and it was made not necessarily for mass production purposes but for an enjoyment factor of making it, the short 'film' itself is all of 6 minutes and 22 seconds, which for some films is just really the beginning. This I believe wouldn't be a mainstream film that would turn up in cinemas all over the UK, I believe that it would just be a few people viewing it for entertainment purposes but only the minority, some may describe it as an 'indie' film. The name of the film itself I think is really meaningful; In Greece ZOI means life, and I think what Oliver Hollingdale  with this film was trying to show that life is all about, being young having fun by playing games, and that life should be simple, they are the meaning that I got from this film, and I think that these meanings aren't anything a mainstream audience would really respond to in great masses so wouldn't ever be on the big cinema screens. The music used in this is very si-fi like as it has a techno sound to it, but, I feel as if that contrasts and actually contradicts the realistic scenes that are happening with the two boys, I dislike the fact that the music is the same throughout as for me personally I found it rather samey and as an audience member started to become distracted from what was happening as no new sounds were coming through to me to specifically engage me so, if I was to personally re make this short film I would alter the soundtrack slightly to make it more engaging. I really loved some of the shots used as I thought they really captured and conveyed the two characters relationship but I think that the acting showed us more the emotions in this than the soundtrack or camera shots did. A few of the shots that I really picked up on was the one in which on of the boys was hiding from the other in the game of 'IT' that they were playing and the over the shoulder view of the brother running to find him, I thought was very good as it was a 'cute' shot that emphasised the actors age and also brought the audience into it by putting the camera at actors eye level so it make it look like you are actually there as an audience member. Another shot which i really found quite intriguing is the first real shot of the one boy on his own and in the foreground he is standing and in the background is fields and a tree, this gives a sense of setting and atmosphere which is a very natural peaceful one, I like the fact that you can tell someone else is about to enter the scene by the boy looking off into the distance and then slowly following something with his face, I think this worked really well as I as an audience member felt really interested in what he was looking off at.
 I think that this film reflects more of a film in which I would do, due to the simplistic feel that it has about it, with the low budget etc. 

Different shot types

Long Shot- shows where action is taking place, it also allows the audience to follow broad movements, shows relative positions of subject and it also establishes the mood.

High Angle Shot- audience has dominance over character.

Closer/ midshots- Allows audience to take a detached view without personal involvement.

Extreme Close Up- Creates intimacy honesty, emotion, often discomfort.

Very long shot (Establishing shot)- Maintains sense of space, shows some detail.

Film genres.

Genres- 
Horror
Western
War
Drama
Musical
Action
Adventure
Rom-Com
Romance
Fantasy
Comedy
Documentary
Si-fi
SwashBuckle
Animation
Crime and Gangster 
Epics/ Historical
Disaster 
Detective 

Those are a few of the different film genres that are about, for my film as I have little/ no budget for this the majority are not fee-sable. Also due to the fact I do not have enough funds to travel my film shall have to be set in the town in which I live- Hastings or neighbouring areas such as Bexhill, Battle.. 
I personally think that I would like for my film to be a serious film, possibly a horror, thriller type film. 

Films

Panic room (2002)
Distributor- Columbia
Producer- ColumbiaDirector- David Fincher Writer- David Koepp
Stars- Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart and Forest WhitakerGenre- ThrillerStoryline- Recently divorced Meg Altman and her daughter Sarah have bought a new home in New York. On their tour around the mansion, they come across the panic room. A room so secure, that no one can get in. When three burglars break in, Meg makes a move to the panic room. But all her troubles don't stop there. The criminals know where she is, and what they require the most in the house is in that very room. 

• Two female characters introduced in the first two minutes of the film.
• Quite eery slow music that then speeds up to a quite tense jumpy type of music (strings I think)
•  This opening doesn't really tell me what is going to happen in this film, but it does set the atmosphere with the music so it could be a good opening but I personally dislike it.

North By Northwest (1959)Director- Alfred Hitchcock
Production Company-  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Writer- Ernest Lehman
Stars- Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and Jason MasonGenre- Adventure, Romance, Mystery
Storyline- Middle-aged Madison Avenue advertising executive Roger O. Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent by a gang of spies. He gets involved in a series of misadventures and is pursued across the States by both the spies and the government whilst being helped by a beautiful blonde.

•  Set in New York. The height of the buildings emphasised by camera angles either above or below. The height in buildings indicates power. 
• Time period set= not too long ago but it's not a recent film, 80's perhaps?..
• Titles tilted in angles of buildings by camera angle. He credits small production teams such as the technical people, which in more modern films they do not tend to do. 

Seven (se7en) (1995)Director- David Fincher.
Production company-Cecchi Gori Pictures, Newline Cinema
Writer-Andrew Kevin Walker
Stars- Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey
Genre- Crime, Drama, Mystery.
Storyline- A film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured Sommerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while green Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer...

• The opening made you think of a murder mystery 
• No actors in opening two minutes of this film, this adds to the mystery for me.
• Dark screen
• Set in New York
• creepy/ eery music
• Main characters name comes on before titles of the production and distributors.. 
• Titles early on
   I really like this opening. I would like to achieve one along these lines, without actors or very little appearance from actors. Or possibly a voice over..

British Film- Submarine.

SUBMARINE. ( a British film)

Director- Richard Ayoade.

Producers- Ben Stiller, Marj Herbert, Andy Stebbing, Mary Burke.

Screen Play by- Richard Ayoade.

Studio- Film4, Wales Creative IP fund, Warp Films, Red Hour Films.

Distributers-Optimium Releasing (UK) The Weinstein Company (USA)

The National Lottery fund British films. 


BOX OFFICE- opening weekend- £244, 476 (UK)(20th March 2011)
                   gross- $466, 702 (USA)(14th August 2011)

Half term break.

Unfortunately during this week off of college, we haven't been able to meet up or do any more work than what we already have got so far, this is due to the fact that each of us are in different places, so it's difficult to meet up as it is, but, we also have work at different times during this week and the fact that we only have 3 people in our group doesn't help as we can't actually do much filming with just the two of us so we feel as if we need the entire group there before we can actually decide anything more. We discussed before the half term begun that the first media lesson back we'll go off and do some more work in that time and also possibly after school. So I shant be uploading anything for this week.

Planning for preliminary

where- school
what about- someone goes to the canteen and buys some food
- walks along the path outside, walk through the sliding doors, then through the second door.
- walks towards the canteen and ask for some food.

conversation
a- hi what would you like
b- hay can I have a can of coke please?
a- sure that’d be 70p please..
b- there you go, thank you! 
 
person b walks away.

shooting- first part is being shot inside looking out of the window watching the person walk up to the door. We then see the person walk through the sliding doors and through a door that you have to push/ pull. The camera will be in front of the person and we will see them walking towards us, the camera will then be over the shoulder of the person while the canteen staff are talking. It then changes as each person speaks.


so far we haven’t story boarded our scene due to the fact we haven’t had enough time as a group to get together and do some shots but we will be doing that at a later date.

Storyboard

As a homework task I went away and watched the first two minutes of a film and story board about it, I chose to storyboard the film Australia, I did this on a few sheets of paper, drew a few pictures of what the shot looked like. I wrote about the shots used, the amount of time each shot was kept on screen for, the camera movement used such as still- slow- fast, whether or not the shot has a soundtrack behind it and also the dialogue used. This task I believe was to show us how much camera work is actually used in a short amount of time in a film, it also showed me how much detail obviously went into planning and shooting it, as the film maker had to shoot it in the Australian outback to keep in with the films theme, otherwise the entire films feel and effect would be completely destroyed.

Lessons.

11-10-2011's lesson-
In today's lesson we got out the filming equipment- camera and tripod; We was given a list of practise shots to do, so we got into our groups and trialled and tested with various different shots varying the shot type and whether we held the camera in our hands or used a tripod to get a steady still shot. We took it in turns to practise with the camera and being shot on the camera. We got a few alright shots, but we didn't have enough time to practise enough really, so no shots taken were good enough to use in our trailer..

12-10-2011's lesson-

In today's lesson we sort of carried on with our previous work from last lesson to get a few more shots, we then as a class went back into the classroom and viewed a few groups short clips and found a few faults in them like crossing the 180degree line, cutting out vital things like people's faces, the level in which the camera is put at changed, and the camera needs to be put on a tripod if not doing tracking shots; So we discussed how we could change the shots and improve them and then went out and did a bit more filming to use instead of our original shots, but I unforntuanately run out of time in this lesson so I couldn't upload the shots, but I shall attempt to next lesson.