Letter home

In the film opening it will feature a letter home from the soldier to his wife so I did some research into what they looked like and how I would recreate one to use in my film. I found this picture;

All I will have to do is find some plain white paper or maybe some off white paper to use and write in curly handwriting. Also perhaps to make it look more realistic I might include a subtle stamp like the one above has. But overall, I think that as long as it has curly writing and a date on it it should look quite realistic.

Fashion in the 1940's

Audience Research

I did some research into my audience and to who I thought would be an appropriate target audience for my film. In my opinion I think that my film is targeted at women as it has a fairy tale element to it and I don't think that it would appeal to young teenage boys as they typically seem to like action and my opening sequence doesn't include much action.

I spoke to some people asking them questions to get some research on the kind of films that they like and what they look for in an opening sequence.

Person 1- Male, age 16

1. What kind of films do you like?
I like action films like fast and furious 5 as I really enjoy all the car chases and action involved in it. I also like comedies such as Pineapple Express as I find it really funny and it also includes lots of action too.

2. What is your favourite film?
My favourite film is fast and furious 5 because it has lots of action and car chases and also has the element of surprise as you aren't always sure where the storyline is going to go which I like.

3. What do you look for in an opening sequence?
I like opening sequences that don't give too much of the film away. I want to be left wondering what is going to happen.

4. Do you like period dramas?
No I absolutely hate them. I find them really boring.

5. Would you be interested in a period film?
No, not at all I think it would be really boring.

Person 2 - Female, age 16

1. What kind of films do you like?
I like romantic comedies.

2. What is your favourite film?
My favourite film is 'The Notebook'. I really like it because it has a lovely storyline which I love and it always makes me cry at the end.

3. What do you look for in an opening sequence?
In an opening sequence I like there to be hints of what the rest of the story may involve and how the storyline might develop but I don't want the whole film to be given away at the start.

4. Do you like period dramas?
Not really, they are a bit boring for me.

5. Would you be interested in a period film?
To be honest I really don't think I would be, like I said, they are a bit boring.

Person 3- Female, age 17

1. What kind of films do you like?
I like romantic comedies because they make me laugh and cry at the same time.

2. What is your favourite film?
My favourite film is Marley and Me because it makes me laugh with all the funny things that Marley does but makes me cry at the end when he dies.

3. What do you look for in an opening sequence?
In an opening sequence I like to have some idea of what the film might entale.

4. Do you like period dramas?
Period dramas don't really interest me. They are too old fashioned and boring.

After asking people of the same age as me it showed me that people of this age clearly are not the right audience for my film so I decided to ask some older people.

Person 4- Female. Age 46

1. What kind of films do you like?
I really like westerns and films set in the olden days.

2. What is your favourite film?
My favourite film is True Grit

3. What do you look for in an opening sequence?
I want the opening to hint at what the film might be like but not give too much away.

4. Do you like period dramas?
Yes, I watch them all the time. I watch Downton Abbey and Cranford. I really like them because the time era interests me and I really like the costumes that they wear.

5. Would you be interested in a period film?
I think I would be, I think it would be really interesting to watch.

Person 5- Female age 28

1. What kind of films do you like?
I like romantic comedies, comedies and films like that and good old fashioned disney fairytales.

2. What is your favourite film?
My favourite film is Mary Poppins because it is funny, happy and I love the costumes that they wear.

3. What do you look for in an opening sequence of a film?
I like opening sequences that leave me wondering what is going to happen.

4. Do you like period dramas?
Yes, I really like period dramas and I watch things like Pirot and Miss Marple all the time.

5. Would you be interested in a period film?
I think I would be because I like watching things from a different era.


Person 6- Male age 45

1. What kind of films do you like?
I like comedies and action films

2. What is your favourite film?
My favourite film is 'The holy Grail' by Monty Python. Its really funny.

3. What do you look for in an opening sequence.
I like something interesting to see in the opening rather than just some credits rolling across the screen and also I like there to be hints that suggest where the story may go.

4. Do you like period dramas?
Not at all, I hate things like that. I find that they are very very boring.

5. Would you be interested in a period film?
No. It would bore me too much.


After asking 6 different people about their opinions on what sorts of films they like. I have come to the conclusion that older women would be the target audience for my film as they seem to be interested in period dramas opposed to males of a similar age and younger people. In addition it seems that everyone likes to have subtle hints at how the film may develop throughout. This has been extremely helpful in deciding what kind of things to include into my opening sequence and who I should target it to.

who would be the perfect actor...

I feel that the film I plan on creating is similar to that of the genre of 'Pearl Harbour'. I guess this is the film that actually inspired me for my own. I really like 'Pearl Harbour' and think that it is a brilliant film which portrays the events of the war in a good emotional way.

As 'Pearl Harbour' is set in the same times as the film I am creating an opening sequence to, I can use 'Pearl Harbour' to help me.

'Pearl Harbour' falls into the genres Action, Drama and Romance. I think that the development of my film after the opening sequence can fit into these genres.

Ideally, I would love Kate Beckinsale to play the role of Marie as the character she plays is exactly as i envision Marie. She has the long, dark brown curly hair and the red lips. She is a typical leading role woman that would be in the film as she is very attractive. I also think that she played the role really well and I believe that if she were in my film she would be able to bring a lot of emotion into it.

Seeing as I unfortunately can't use Kate Beckinsale in my opening sequence i will try to find someone who looks similar to her. Perhaps with the main features such as dark brown hair. I will definitely find an actress who is in their 20's so that it looks much more realistic than using someone my age such as one of my friends. I can use my sister if she is willing to be in it as she is 27 and has dark brown curly hair or I could perhaps ask one of her friends if she doesn't want to.

This image really captures the emotion between

 the two characters and I think that Kate

 Beckinsale plays the role really well.

1940's Make up

Here is a useful website about 1940's makeup to give me a good idea of the make up style to use in my film. 1940'S MAKE UP

1940's Hairstyle

This could be a possibility. It looks pretty difficult to do to be honest but I think with a little practise I could perhaps get it to take on some resemblance to an actual hairstyle.

This is called the Reverse victory roll. This was a very popular hairstyle in the 1940's due to the fact that as a result of the war there weren't many ways in which women could express themselves with fashion due to all the rations so, they decided to make their hair look as pretty as they could.

Here is a tutorial which I'll use to help me do the hairstyle.

Who is my Audience?

I think that the kind of people that would want to watch the film I plan on creating will fall into the Aficionados category or perhaps mainstream plus. These are the kind of people who rarely watch mainstream films and prefer to watch films that are different and more 'specialised'. Some people who fall into this cateogory may even go to the extent to say that they are 'Anti-Hollywood' even though they do occasionally watch mainstream american films.

Audience Profile

Jodie is 34 and a housewife. She is very family orientated and is married to 36 year old Robert and has 3 young children; Jamie, Jacob and Judith. Robert is a manager of a local bank and is at work all day until late so she often left to look after the children herself most week days apart from the odd days that Robert has off work and at the weekends.She doesn't like watching glamourous hollywood films as she doesn't like to watch beautiful, super skinny, fashionable women on screen as it just makes her feel down. She prefers to watch foreign language films, especially french ones as she wanted to be a French teacher when she was younger. She also likes watching films with a dark sense about them such as 'Changling' starring Angelina Jolie and the 'Lovely Bones' which do in a sense have a happy ending. These kind of films make her appreciate how lucky her life is and she goes to the cinema at least twice every 3 months in a bid to escape from her hectic life of looking after 3 hyperactive children all day. She occasionally gets Robert to come along much to his distress at her taste in films as he would rather watch a typical action film. Her favourite books are ones like 'The Timetravellers Wife' which take you on an emotional ride but always have a happy ending which she likes the films she watches to have too so that she can go away feeling happier and uplifted.

My Story

In lesson we did an exercise to help us think about a story for our idea. We started with a sentence that we all wrote but could choose an age of our own choice. We then wrote a paragraph introducing the character and the setting which he was in. We then passed our story to the person next to us and had to carry on the story we were passed.

This is my story:

Ross, a 67 year old male woke and looked around him, he was in a place he had never been before, surrounded by bustling people hurriedly trying to reach their destination. He looked lost in this fast moving world as he quietly shuffled around in his comfy blue slippers and woollen cardigan with amazement on his face. His fluffy white hair moved in the breeze as a car drove by. He pulled his checkered shirt and cardigan tighter around him rubbing his arms in attempt to get warmer.

His teeth chattered and his half-moon glasses fell onto the very bridge of his nose. Passers-by seemed almost oblivious to Ross' existence and it was this that made him feel so incredibly alone; his pace slowed and he slowly came to a stop and sunk drearily onto a nearby bench. A tall, extravagant business woman sat beside him, talking into what seemed to be some alien technology in her ear, he was most confused to say the least.

She stopped talking and shut the device and turned to him. "What are you staring at?" She said defensively. Ross looked taken aback. " well this may seem strange, but i don't know where i am." Maybe she could help him. " you're in Covent Gardens" She replied raising an eyebrow.

He looked at her with a gentle innocence. People often spoke to him in this patronising tone. He then smiled at her, his eyes glittering in a friendly way, " as time continues- I struggle to recall what happened yesterday. When I was young, i treated the world as if it would always be here. I never expected to grow up and to get old." His eyes gleamed brighter as if he could see the image of his past. The woman barely took notice, but he continued despite this. " It's almost too late.  Time doesn't change any more. Every day could just be the same as the one before..." His mouth twitched anxiously, and he raised his eyes again to match hers.

He seemed somewhat proud of his make-shift speech. As he went to get up off the bench his foot slipped on a banana skin. His hip slipped out of place and he tragically died on the roadside.Unfortunately no-one realised he was dead. The woman sitting beside him happened to be a local producer in a theatre company. She thought he was asleep so she picked him up and used him as a prop in her latest production. The question is, was Ross' death an accident, or was the banana skin placed there deliberately by the woman?  

1. When writing the first paragraph the idea I wanted to develop was how Ross had wondered out of an old people's home into this 'new world' full of technology and fast moving cars. I then pictured him growing a relationship with someone in this 'new world' perhaps a young boy who would take him back to the home he came from but Ross would meet him everyday telling him about his past becoming more and more of an influence on this young boy.
Compared to how the story actually went, it didn't differ greatly at the start. Ross still met another character and touched on his past. The only difference was it was a business woman. However the ending was complete different to how I pictured it with Ross slipping and dying then being used as a prop in a theatre production but I guess that brings a bit of comedy into it...?
2. I'm not sure whether the complete story would make a good short film however i think that it definitely has the potential to but some things may need work on to make the different sections fit together.
Overall, I do like where the narrative of my story went and it could be a possible future idea for a short film.

The Art of the Title Sequence- Edward Scissorhands

Another video i looked at was the opening credits of Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton:

I really like how all the credits are angled and shaped so that they look like scissors. I think this is a really effective way to make them link in with the plot of the film. I haven't actually seen this film and all i know about it is that a man has scissorhands. Even from watching the opening i still don't really know much about the film which in my opinion is a good thing because you don't want to give too much away in the beginning. Sometimes the ending is implied in the beginning sequence and perhaps in this film he gets normal hands again as you see a pair of normal hands, but then, this could be just to highlight the fact that he has scissors for hands.

The title sequence is quite simple, there isn't really any fancy animations, just simple movement animations and fading but i think that having them in the shape of scissors is really effective and i really like that idea. They are in white which contrasts with the background- a dull grey colour which makes them clear to see and read also, it says 'Vincent Price as the Inventor' which is unusual because films don't tend to say who people are starring as and in addition they are in the centre of the screen which I think is unusual aswell because many films have them to the side of the screen so you can see the action in the background such as The Hangover.

Timeline of the Title Sequence

0:19 Twentieth Century Fox Presents

0:24 A Tim Burton Film

0:32 Edward Scissorhands

0:49 Johnny Depp

0:54 Winona Ryder

0:58 Dianne Wiest

1:03 Anthony Michael Hall

1:08 Kathy Baker

1:13 Robert Oliveri

1:18 Conchata Ferrell, Caroline Aaron

1:23 Dick Anthony Williams, O-Lan Jones

1:28 Vincent Price as the Inventor

1:33 And Alan Arkin

1:37 Music by Danny Elfman

1:42 Casting by Victoria Thomas

1:47 Costume Designer Colleen  Atwood

1:53 Special Makeup and Scissorhands Effects Produced by Stan Winston

1:59 Edited by Richard Halsey A.C.E

2:07 Production Designer Bo Welch

2:11 Director of Photography Stefan Czapsky

2:16 Executive Producer Richard Hashimoto

2:22 Story by Tim Burton & Caroline Thompson

2:26 Screenplay by Caroline Thompson

2:31 Produced by Denise Di Novi, Tim Burton

2:36 Directed by Tim Burton

Compared to Taxi Driver this title sequence is much longer because it starts much later at 19 seconds compared to 3 seconds in taxi driver. I like Edward Scissorhands much better because it's much slower and isn't trying to cram all the credits in in time which is how it feels when watching Taxi Driver but then, this could be because Taxi Driver is a more action packed film and has much quicker action in it compared with Edward Scissorhands. However I think that Se7en had a much more creative and interesting animation of the credits which made it much more interesting to watch but I guess it depends on what genre film it is to what the opening title sequence is like.

Preliminary Task

This is our preliminary task of a character walking into a room and having a conversation with another character. We went for the storyline of someone being held hostage to try and make it more interesting to watch as the basic story of the video isn't really very interesting. We didn't let the audience know what the girl was being held hostage for until towards the end of the clip to keep them guessing and the fact that it was something quite ridiculous gives it a bit of comedy about it.
This was a really quick exercise allowing us to experiment with different angles and shots to get used to using the camera such as the close ups on the hands opening the door. These type of shots don't give away too much of what the characters are like or where the plot may go and therefore might keep the audience more interested which is a good technique to use when creating our own 2 minute opening.

The Art of The Title Sequence- se7en

We looked at some interesting ways of a titling sequence which could reflect the genre of your film. A good example of this is the title sequence of Se7en:

The titling in this looks similar to handwriting which you see a lot of in the opening sequence. The font and the animation of this really gives a sense of something horrible that might happen. In addition the untidiness and flickering of the titling could give us an impression of what perhaps the main character could be like. It all fits in with what you see on screen and the eerie/screeching music does too. I think that it works really well and the fact that it doesn't really give much of the plot away makes you want to know what the person is actually doing. In addition, I think that its really effective because it makes the opening 2 minutes really interesting to watch because of the flicking between images, the flickering of credits and the music which in my opinion makes you want to carry on watching the film however it does sometimes make it quite difficult to read. I really like these opening credits because they are different to what you usually see on a film and make it more unique and interesting to watch.


0.03 NEW LINE CINEMA PRESENTS
0.06 AN Arnold Kopelson PRODUCTION
0.10 A FILM BY David Fincher
0.14 Brad Pitt
0.18 Morgan Freeman
0.24 SE7EN
0.30 Gwyneth Paltrow
0.33 Richard Roundtree
0.38 R. LeeErmey
0.42 John C. McGinley
0.46 Julie Araskog       Mark Boone Junior
0.54 John Cassini         Reginald E. Cathey      Peter Crombie
0.57 Hawthorne James      Michael Massee           Leland Orser
1.03 Richard Patnow      Richard Schiff              Pamala Tyson
1.10 CASTING BY      Billy Hopkins.             Suzanne Smith        Kerry Borden
1.17 MUSIC BY        Howard Shore
1.22 COSTUMES DESIGNED BY    Michael Kaplan
1.24 EDITED BY   Richard Francis-Bruce
1.26 PRODUCTION DESIGNED BY     Arthur Max
1.34 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY    Darius Khondji
1.40 CO PRODUCERS    Steven Brown    Nana Greenwald    Sanford Panitch
1.43 CO EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS   Lynn Harris    Richard Saperstein
1.50 EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS    Glanni Nunnari     Dan Kalsrud    Anne Kopelson
1.53 WRITTEN BY   Andrew Kevin Walker
1.58 PRODUCED BY   Arnold Kopelson     Phyllis Carlyle
2.04 DIRECTED BY   David Fincher

Going to Cinema City....

The trip to Cinema City gave us an insight into how cinema has become more popular, who the main companies are and the fact that we are getting a fewer choice of film to see at the cinema.

Over the years, cinema has become more and more popular with figures rising up to 164.2 million last year however that seems like nothing compared with the figures in the post war 1940's which were 500 million. In addition, in 1982 there was a dramatic decline in the number of visitors to the cinema with a very low number of only 50 million a year. This was due to the introduction of home videos. This meant that people didn't have to pay to go and see their favourite film. They could simply buy it on video and watch it as many times as they liked in the comfort of their own home. However, a couple of years later in 1984, there was a huge multiplex built in Milton Keynes making the figures of cinema go on the increase once again.
It seems that in America, the time when viewing figures are at a high is during the summer. This is because it is the holiday season and people have time to go to the cinema and also because in some cases it is much cooler inside the cinema complex. On the other hand, in Britain the peak time is between January and March. This is because the weather is colder and unlike in America where the weather is nice and sunny most of the time, people in Britain want to make the most of the sunshine whilst it lasts.
The term blockbuster was non-existent before the film 'Jaws' was released. The term came about because of the long queues that literally went round the block. Considering the rise in numbers of people going to the cinema, there has been a fewer choice of types of films to see in the cinema. Typically they have been big hollywood blockbusters and there is very little opportunity to see local British films or films of a different culture.
The film that we got to see, Animal Kingdom was a first time directors film from Australia. It was released by Sony pictures classics, their independent division and was made on a low budget of $5.2m and even managed to win the Sun Dance award. Compared to others, this budget was a very low budget.

• Avatar $237m
• Pirates of The Caribbean 4 $250m
• Kings Speech $15m
• Slumdog Millionaire $15m

Similarly to Animal Kingdom, Cinema City likes to show films of different languages, cultures and others that you wouldn't perhaps have a chance to see in a big cinema such as Odeon or Vue. Films such as 'Amelie'- a french film or completely different films such as 'We need to talk about Kevin'.
Currently, Cinema City are always trying to thing of new ways to bring audiences in and don't always rely on films. They also use the stage and show live opera performances among other types of performances and also offer an educational programme to deliver presentations to students about cinema and film.
Cinema City only has 3 screens which is a small amount compared to the 14 at Odeon, however they still bring in a lot of money. These films were the 5 most viewed films from Septemeber to October 2010 at cinema city with the King's Speech bringing the most profit they have had for 10 years.

• The King's Speech
• Slumdog Millionaire
• The Single Man
• The Reader
• Quantum of Solace

Animal Kingdom, 2010

Director: David Michod

This film was inspired by real life events in the criminal world of Melbourne, Australia and tells the story of a 17 year old boy who gets caught up in his uncles' run ins with the law resulting in nearly everyone getting killed.

In my opinion this was a good film for a first time director. The characters were not overplayed or exaggerated and the first quiet and innocent perceptions of Janine really do hide the real evil that lurks below. However, for me, I think that there were perhaps too many people being murdered which perhaps made it feel a bit over the top but at some points the director killed characters off in an unexpected way which often made you jump which kept you involved with the film. Also, I feel like there was too much going on to get your head round and that perhaps you would have to watch it a few more times to fully understand the film. Other than that, I think that it was an excellent film.

Here is the trailer for Animal Kingdom
 

Textual Analysis

Here is my textual analysis of 'P.s I love you' and ' The Ugly Truth'

Both of these films fall into the Romantic- Comedy genre. They both typically consist of a young and beautiful lead woman and a young handsome lead male role.

'The Ugly Truth' starts off with a plain birds eye view of an American city where everything is the same. There are tall,grey tower blocks nestled in networks of long straight roads for as far as the eye can see. Straight away, this suggests that the film is set in an everyday location with everyday people in an everyday situation. There is nothing special or different about this setting to immediately set it apart from anywhere else. The fact that the beginning suggests this, contrasts with where the main female role 'Abi' lives. She lives in an apartment building that all looks similar however, it is far from the city and everything seems perfectly symmetrical. Even the trees and the shrubs in the pots seem to be symmetrically matched either side of the walkway. This could suggest that Abi is a bit of a 'neat freak', that she likes everything to be absolutely perfect and in place which is also reflected in her costume. However it could imply that she is different to an everyday person you would find in the city.
Immediately you can tell by her neat, clean and smart appearance that she has a well paid job and we are first introduced to her character as she is bustling out of her door in a hurry with her phone to her ear ( a call that is without doubt related to her job). Her costume is quite plain and so are the colours of her house, the setting and her workplace. This could all imply that she is a bit plain herself and that she has no variety in her life; that she has a set routine and she follows it strictly. The fact that she is dressed in a pale blue striped shirt and her workplace is shrouded in shades of blue could suggest that she is in need of a man in her life which is the typical plot of a Rom-Com or on the other hand could imply that she needs to get in touch with her feminine side more. Also, Abi wears glasses which automatically makes her look more intelligent and authoritative and makes us believe that she is more intelligent because of stereotypical views of people with glasses.
When she pulls up into her workplace in her plain and simple car it also highlights how plain her personality may be and the van parked behind implies that she works in a studio. Because of her body language and costume, it is obvious that she is some kind of leader within the work place. She stands tall and walks like she is on a mission. Everyone comes running to her with problems that need to be sorted and they just follow her as she carries on her path wherever she is headed. The fact that she is dressed in a plain suit and the majority of people that are coming to her with problems are dressed less formally or with brightly coloured patterns, suggests that she is the type of person that can keep everything together and under control because she doesn't bring complications or variety into her life to disrupt her ways. Which, consequently allows her to stay calm and collected in the busy hustle and bustle of her chaotic work place.
The panning shot of the TV studio confirms that she does in fact work in a television studio as you can see all the props, the entire studio with all the cameras and different sections for weather, the kitchen area and the anchor room. When she gets called into an office, you can immediately see who is the more authoritative figure. Usually, a character closer in the frame is the more dominant authoritative figure but in this case it was obvious that that the man in the suit sitting in the big comfy, black, swivel chair was the much more dominant person. The plain fact that he is sitting behind the desk automatically make us assume he has a higher position in the workplace because of typical stereotypes we have.
Baring this in mind, the two films are similar in terms of dominance. It appears that both the lead women hold some sort of authority over other people. In 'P.S I Love You' it suggests that the main female role 'Holly' is the more dominant person in the situation because she seems to be leading the main male role 'Gerry' down the street with him obediently following behind. From this you can automatically see that there is something wrong between them; that they have had an argument. You can tell this because of Holly's stiff and strong posture and her expressions. The fact that they emerge from the underground station could suggest that they prefer to keep their problems hidden from everyone else until they get into the comfort of their own four walls.
Likewise in 'The Ugly Truth' the setting is an everyday, busy scene suggesting that these are everyday, regular people. Which is also reflected in the appearance of the apartment block. Everything looks the same. It's nothing fancy, it's just a regular apartment block.
As soon as they enter the lobby into the apartment, you are swallowed into a sea of red. All the doors are red and so are the walls. This emphasises perhaps the anger that she feels towards him or perhaps tries to emphasise the underlying love and passion between them. When walking up the stairs Holly is always looking down on Gerry and Gerry is always looking up to Holly. This could imply that this is how their relationship is or alternatively could imply that Holly always has to depend on Gerry to 'catch her when she falls' and that he is always her safety net.
From the very first beginning five minutes of this film you can tell a lot about Gerry's character because of his body language and facial expressions. For example, even though they are arguing about something he still has a bounce in his step and still manages to laugh and tease Holly. This suggests that Gerry is a very carefree kind of character that likes to have fun and laugh all the time whereas Holly brings more seriousness and reality into the situation.
Once inside the apartment it becomes apparent that shoes will have an importance in the film as they always seem to be in the frame and Gerry keeps hold of the shoe that she throws at him. There just seems to be shoes everywhere in their apartment and later on in the film you do in fact discover that she becomes a successful shoe designer. So this is a perfect example of a prop which has some importance in letting the audience know where the plot could go. Also, Gerry keeps playing with his braces which could also imply that they have an importance in the film too or it could perhaps imply that he is just nervous because of their argument. However, they do in fact help Holly's inspiration to be a shoe designer later in the film.
One other main thing in 'PS I Love You' is that Holly always seems to be in the light whereas Gerry is in the dark. Her chest of drawers are light whereas Gerry's are dark and in shadow. This could suggest something ominous is going to happen to Gerry or it could simply be to highlight the innocence and purity of Holly's personality and characteristics or, in addition, because it's as if the frame is cut in half and they are both stuck on their separate sides could imply that they get divided from each other in some way.
Overall, both of these films conform to the stereotypical views of a Rom-Com. They both have attractive and young lead roles who face a problem or learn a lesson. It's obvious where the plot of a Rom-Com can go- the main lead characters are going to fall in love. However in 'P.S I Love You' it appears that the couple are already together so there must be something that goes wrong from them both to learn from. Similarly both of these films are set in everyday locations which makes them easy to relate to in real life because it shows that these people are just regular people and that they have similar problems to us. However, no matter how much they make the settings and situations realistic, there are always elements which make these films a place of escapism which is what most films are for people. Rom-Coms are ways to escape from your own love problems or perhaps to lift your spirits that there is always a happy ending.

The Art of the Title Sequence- Taxi Driver

Time Line Analysis: Taxi Driver (1976)

0.02: Columbia Pictures Presents
0.08: Robert deNiro in
0.35: Taxi Driver
0.39: Bill/Phillips production of a Martin Scorsese Film
0.42:- Starring Jodi Foster
0.44: Albert Brooks as Tom
         Harvey Keitel
0.49: Leonard Harris
0.50: Peter Boyle as Wizard
0.54: And Cybill Shephard as Betsy
1.07: Music by Bernard Herman
1.13: Supervising Film Editor Marcia Lucas
         Film Editors Tom Ralf a.c.e, Melvin Shaphird
1.16: Special Makeup Dick Smith
1.21: Visual Consultant, David Nichols
          Creative Consultant, Sandra Weintraub
1.26: Director of Photography Michael Chapman
1.29: Written by Paul Schrader
1.41: Directed by Martin Scorsese


As you can see, there are a lot of credits in under the first 2 minutes of the film. In this case there isn't much action going on in the background. It's mainly full of establishing shots to give you and idea of the location and in some occasions it shows a close up view of some eyes which briefly introduces you to the character.
This could be the kind of shots that i could use in my own 2 minute opening-  it doesn't give much of the film away and keeps the audience interested. Also, the credits were quite simple and had no fancy animations to them so again, i could use this idea in my film if it reflected what it was about.

Sound

Diagetic sound: Is the sound that can be heard by the characters withing the scene

Non- Diagetic sound: Is the sound only heard by the audience- the narration/ soundtrack

League of Gentlemen Apocalypse Introduction plays with the rules of diagetic and non diagetic sound. At first it sounds like a non diagetic sound- the soundtrack but in fact you find out that it is the ring tone to the characters phone so it is in fact a diagetic sound.

Score: Is the musical component of the soundtrack, usually composed specifically for the scene.

Narration: A voice telling the story as it goes. This can be used both alongside and instead of dialogue within the scene.

League of Gentlemen series 1 episode 1 plays with the rules of narration. At first you think that it is a narration of the letter that the character is reading from some family member when in fact it is an old lady reading the letter over his shoulder aloud.
This play on the usual concepts of narration and diagetic sound give the programme a twist and make it stand out compared to others.

Camera Shots

There are many different types of shots used for many different reasons.

• Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)
• Very Wide Shot (VWS)

These are also known as establishing shots and are used to set the scene

• Wide shot/ long shot: the subject takes up the full screen or as much as possible.
• Mid shot: shows some part of the subject in detail whilst still giving an impression of the whole subject
• Medium close up: half way between a mid shot and a close up
• Close up: focuses on a certain feature or part of the subject and takes up the whole frame.
• Extreme close up: shows extreme detail
• Cutaway: a shot of something other that the action to perhaps show location
• Cut-in:  shows part of the subject in detail i.e the hands
• Two- shot : a shot of two people framed similarly to a mid shot
• Over the shoulder shot- looking from behind a person at the subject
• Noddy shot- Usually refers to a shot of the interviewe listening and reacting to the subject
• Point of view shot- shows a view from the subjects perspective
• Weather shot: Shows the weather so is usually of the sky.

Here is a video to show some of the different shots

This video also shows the different movements of the camera:

• Pan- This is where the camera pivots from left to right or right to left, usually to show the setting.
• Tilt- This is similar to the pan but instead of pivoting horizontally it pivots vertically from up to down or down to up.
• Track- This is where the camera follows a subject and can be done via a 'dolly' or in documentary style where there is quite abrupt movements of the camera.

Editing

Editing: This is the process of which sound and images are organised into a narrative.

Continuity editing: This is the most common type of editing and creates a sense of reality and time moving forward. It usually happens where events are in chronological order and is often referred to as 'invisible editing' as it does not draw attention to the process.

Credits: These are the text at the beginning and ending of a film to tell you details about cast and crew.

Cross cutting: This is an editing technique of alternating, interweaving or interspersing one narrative action with another (usually in different locations). By combining the 2 separate events it suggests to the audience that they are happening simultaneously. Such as in the Hangover

Eye line match: cutting from a character to what they are looking at. Here is an example

Flashback: This is a scene or a moment in the film which is shown as something that happened earlier. likewise a flash-forward where the audience is shown something that will happen in the future.

Montage editing: Different shots that are edited together which are usually unconnected to create meaning. For Example the Rocky 1 Training sequence. Instead of showing you long clips of all the training that he has done in time order following him when he is running through towns, which would eventually become boring and tedious. They have put together a montage of short clips of the different training that he has done all together over a few minutes.

Fast paced editing: This consists of a rapid succession of many shots over a short period of time. Usually 2 seconds per shot. These are mainly used to create suspense and tension and to make the audience feel involved.

Slow paced editing: The opposite to fast paced. These usually consist of long shots of dialogue often up to 10-15 seconds each. This gives much more time to show characters reactions and emotions as it focuses on facial expressions.

Camera Angles

This relates to the positioning of the camera in relation to what is being shot. They camera may be at eye level, a high angle or a low angle to what is being filmed:

High angle shot: When the camera is pointing up high at someone/something. These types of shots are often used to emphasise power or importance of a character/ object because you are 'looking up' to something/someone which indicates that they have some sort of dominance or power over you.

Low angle shot: When the camera is pointing low at someone or something. These shots are often used to show the opposite of a high angle shot. They imply a character with less dominance, power and/or importance because you are 'looking down' on them.

Eye level shot: This is when the camera is directly eye level at the character or object. These are often used when, appearance, facial expression or emotion is the main feature of the shot.

Finally Finished!!!

The Hangover project is finally complete! My groups video will be uploaded shortly.

Thankfully, we have finally finished our project and managed to complete it by the deadline too. But only just!

What have i learnt from this experience?

I have learnt that it takes a lot of time to get the shots right. When filming a scene you need to make sure you've got it from the right angle, that there isn't anything that shouldn't be in the background, that everything is in the right place and that the actors say/do the right things and repeating shots over and over again to get different angles and to make it perfect. Not to mention making sure there isn't any out of place background noise and this all takes so much time. In your plan you need to allow for this time incase something goes wrong, idealy planning to have a finished cut a couple of days before the deadline.
Also, editing it all together takes so much time too. It can be extremely frustrating sometimes when something doesn't do what you want it to do as we found out in this project. However, now we are much more familiar with the software, hopefully next time we will be able to use it better.
Doing this project, we faced many problems. Problems such as:

• finding enough/any actors
• finding the right props
• finding the time for us all to do it together.

It was so difficult to find people to be in the film. It literally got down to the last minute before someone said yes in the case of the character Phil and for the Bride. However we did have a back up plan- one of us could do it. But we thought it would look much less effective if we did that. Finding props was quite difficult too, finding props that looked the same was very difficult so we had to settle for props that looked relitively like the ones on the film. But overall, i think we did a very good job with that. Also, finding a time for us all to be able to help out was extremely difficult. We all had different timetables and we all had different commitments but we managed to find one day for us all to participate to get most of the filming done.
Overall, I really enjoyed doing this project. I had a lot of fun whilst making it and learnt a lot about working in a group, the editing software and how much time it takes just to make a 2 minute opening of a film. I think it has taught me a lot to keep in mind when creating my own opening which will hopefully help me to think of a good, achievable idea and help me to avoid the problems we faced when making our version of 'The Hangover'

The Hangover Project Part 2

Today Park Farm kindly allowed us to use one of their very nice hotel rooms to film the majority of our Hangover opening scene in. Thankfully, at the last minute my friend Vicki said she would stand in and play the role of the bride and Caitlin brought along her parents to play the mother and father of the bride.

Lizzie getting the camera angle right for the wedding dress shot.

The filming went very well and we managed to get it all done in a couple of hours however, we did come across a few problems with lighting but we felt that we would be able to deal with that in the editing stages.

This was the frame that we had the most issues to do with lighting. We pulled the blinds down eventually because of the light streaming through the window which seemed to make the shot a lot more clearer but obviously made it more darker but we decided that we would be able to brighten it up in post production.

Everybody in postion for the full shot.

We had to move the room around to make it look more similar to the setting in the actual film. Using the DVD of the Hangover, we managed to resemble the set to a fashion using what we could get our hands on.
 




We also made sure that the characters had similar costumes. Here, the mother has an orange jumper and a scarf round her neck like in the film.

Caitlin's mum stepping in to be the mother of the bride

The mother of the bride from 'The Hangover'



Overall, i think the filming went very well today and look forward to editing it all together.