Elixir

I presented this opening scene that was created by students from Hurtwood House to the rest of the class, as I thought it was really good. The film has an unique story line; which remains a mystery. The lighting in every shot was very well thought about, no natural light seemed to be used, the lighting makes the setting mysterious. The camera shots are very steady. The clip creates many enigma codes like, what was the scientific experiment? why was he so worried? where were they? and why were they doing it? This intrigues the audience, making them want to watch the rest of the film. There was a good use of props such us, the blood tube, and the projector. The titles appear as if they were being typed, this fits into the computer-like tone to the women's voice. I think that the genre of thriller is easily identified.
Overall, I thought it was very effective and successful.

Art of the Title

1. What is the definition of a Title Sequence?
A Title Sequence presents the names of the people who are responsible of the making of the film or TV program.

2. What is the function of a Title Sequence?
The function of a Title Sequence is to credit the people who are involved in the making. Title sequences are usually presented in a way which fits the genre e.g. Rom Com would maybe has swirly font, whereas a horror would maybe have quite a dark and spooky font.

3. Name three films featured in the A Brief History of the Art of the Title Sequence?
The Phantom of the Opera
The Thing
Star Wars

4. Select a film Title Sequence shown in the A Brief History of the Art of the Title Sequence and discuss how the Title Sequence uses Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements and what kind of mood/feeling is created as a result?
Saturday Night Fever Title Sequence is quite quirky with the music 'staying alive' by the Bee Gees. This makes the audience want to jump out of their chair and dance, this immediately gives us the impression that it involves dancing. The typography is swirly red writing which looks like its been lit up, the word 'fever' flickers on and off, this gives the feel of a sign outside a nightclub or bar. The red typography matches the colour of his shirt, this contrasts with the dull colours of the surroundings.

5. What does the use of Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements in the chosen film Title Sequence suggest about the theme/content of the film?
The style of the typography gives the impression of a sign outside a nightclub or bar, this gives the audience the impression that the film may be about a nightclub or bar, the upbeat music also gives this impression.

6. Select another film Title Sequence shown in the A Brief History of the Art of the Title Sequence and discuss how the Title Sequence uses Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements and what kind of mood/feeling is created as a result? Name of chosen Film Title Sequence: Use of Typography Elements (text): Use of Visual Imagery/Sound Elements: Mood/feeling:
The typography for the film The Social Network is presented as the same layout as the Facebook logo. This immediately shows the viewers what social networking site this film is based on. The Facebook logo is extremely well known, so having this type of typography will immediately attract Facebook users. 

7. What does the use of Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements in the chosen film Title Sequence suggest about the theme/content of the film?
The typography suggests that it might be a documentary type film, we immediately know what it is going to be about. It also suggests that it is targeted for Facebook users.

8.Visit the following website: Art of the Title watch the sequences and read the 6 Film Title Sequence interview with Richard Morrison.
The typography for Sweeney Todd is quite sinister, the title for 'Sweeney Todd' is red, this symbolises blood, death and rather haunting things.

9. What does the use of Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements in the chosen film Title Sequence suggest about the theme/content of the film?
The red typography and dark background suggests that this is a horror, the music helps identify the genre too as its quite dull and eerie.

10. What does Richard Morrison explain about the Film Title Sequence?
Richard Morrison explained that animating the blood was the most challenging part "Animating blood and its movement became the most crucial and challenging element of the sequence. We had to build special platforms within which we imitated blood movement and filmed it" This makes us realise that even the smallest detail of the film was well thought out and was rather time consuming.  

11. Does Richard Morrison feel the Film Title Sequence was successful, why or why not? Name of 2nd chosen Film Title Sequence created by Richard Morrison: Use of Typography Elements (text): Use of Visual Imagery/Sound Elements: Mood/feeling:
In The Dreamers I feel that Morrison didn't use the film titles successfully, as I found it quite hard to concentrate on the names while there was a lot of movement going on in the background.

12. What does the use of Typography Elements (text), Visual Imagery/Sound Elements in the chosen film Title Sequence suggest about the theme/content of the film?
The sequence automatically gives us the impression that the film is based in Paris as the building that has been focused on is the Eiffel tower, the letter 'A' in the word 'Dreamers' is also set out as the silhouette of the building. The idea that the film is based in Paris was also given because the colours red and blue were included (colours on the French flag).
 The impression that I was given for the film from the title sequence was that it might have something to do with the making of the Eiffel tower, as parts of the building were presented as drawings.
The music is quite upbeat, this steers us away from the idea that this film might be a horror.

13. What does Richard Morrison explain about the Film Title Sequence?
Richard Morrison explains that he wanted the sequence to look quite old fashioned. "I wanted this sequence to look organic, just like in the old days. So I just started piecing visually abstract elements together, like in a puzzle, and decided to completely abandon any complex animation effects. It just did not fit in with the essence of the movie."

14. Does Richard Morrison feel the Film Title Sequence was successful?
Richard Morrison feels that the title sequence was successful as he quoted "I think most people now recognise The Dreamers just by that quite memorable title sequence." His aim was to make the sequence look old fashioned, and this was successfully overcome. Therefor he feels that it was successful.

Time Out Evaluation

Prelim Task: Time Out

 In class we was given a task to create an opening film to whatever genre we were given. We was given the genre musical. This is our final outcome 'Time Out'

Time Out Planning

Pirates of the Caribbean opening scene analysis.

Sound - The clip opens with diegetic sound, that has a slight suspense to it. Over lapping this, there is another diegetic sound, with quite a jumpy ring to it. This automatically gives us an idea on the genre, we can already tell that this film isn't going to be a comedy. We then hear the sound of stormy weather; wind and creaking boards. During this, quietly we hear a young female singing a song, the closer we get to the boat the louder it gets. A young girl singing a melody is typically used in many scary films, as it creates an eerie effect. We hear some dialogue between a few people on board, they all seem to have a serious and even an angry tone to their voice at times. Along side with the diegetic sounds and the stormy noises, this helps add a sinister feel to the scene. This also steers us away from the idea of this being a comedy. When the umbrella is found in the water, we hear a ticking noise. This makes the viewers expect something to follow. A deeper sound then kicks in, making us realise that something dark and gloomy is about to happen. The beat of the music gets faster, showing us the panic and the movement on board. We also hear several men talking amongst each other, this also helps show the panic. When the young girl finds the necklace, we hear another diegetic noise, which sounds quite negative, making us realise that finding the necklace isn't a good thing. The music builds up towards the end, getting louder, it then suddenly cuts making us realise that is the end of that scene.

Camera - The first shot we see is a long shot of the ship slowly sailing towards us. The camera tilts up, zooms in on the little girl and then pans around the ship. This helps exaggerate the size of the ship in comparison to the young girl. The next shot is coming from behind her, the camera doesn't seem to be completely steady as it moves towards her. This shows us that someone is creeping up on her, but creates a slight mystery as we couldn't see who. We then see an over the shoulder shot, this shows us who was creeping up on her. There is then a medium shot of one of the men on board, this shows us not only the character but also the surroundings and what's going on in the background. At 2:00 there is a high angle showing us down to the water, this also helps exaggerate the size of the ship. We then see a close up of the boy in the water, the shot has been taken at sea level, letting the waves crash into the lens, making us realise that the sea is quite rough. At 2:14 medium shot of just their knees and below. This shows us the panic on the boat as we see a lot of legs moving quickly. At 2:30 we see a long shot of the men on board facing into the water, the camera then slowly pans up and over them revealing what they are looking at. This also creates a slight mystery as we want to know what they are looking at right away. This shot is then followed by a medium shot of three men, this lets us see their facial expressions. It is then followed by a long shot of the burning boat, the camera tilts down showing us the damaged parts in the sea. At 2:44 the camera slowly moves up and down giving the impression that the boat is swaying from the waves. At 2:56 the camera tracks the movement of one of the men, this helps reveal what is going on in the background. At 3:22 we see a low angle close up of the young girl, this shows us that the girl is looking down at the boy, this may not only suggest that she's looking down at him because he is laying down, but also maybe because she looking down on him because she is higher up in class than him. At 3:47 we see a close up of the boys necklace, this may suggest that it will play an important role throughout the film. At 4:23 we see an extreme close up of the girls eyes, the shot immediately changes to a close up of an older women's eyes, this connects the two characters as one.

Costumes - All the characters a dressed rather old fashioned, this helps show us what era the film is set in (18th century). All the men on board are dressed reasonable smart. However, the young boy that was found in the water's clothes are rather dirty. This also suggests that he is from a lower class.

Lighting - The lighting only seems to be natural light as it is set outside.

Actors - All actors seem to be men, this also helps understand the era, as women had very little rights. Therefor a women is unlikely to be found on board. Other than the young girl who contrasts with the rest, making us realise that she must be very important.

Make up - One of the men on boards face seems to be rather dirty, this may suggest that they have been travelling for quite a while as well as working on deck.

Settings - The scene is set on a ship. Although whereabouts the ship is, remains anonymous as the fog blocks out the surroundings.

Effects - There doesn't seem to be any noticeable effects.

Analysis of Jurassic Park opening scene.

Sound - The clip opens with the sound of wildlife; crickets etc. This makes the viewer realise that for now everything is calm, even before we can see the setting. However, it has an eerie whistling to it, making us think that the calmness is soon to be interrupted, and something rather sinister is going to happen. The calm sound is soon dominated by a loud thudding noise. The thudding noise is repeated several times, and then followed by rustling of trees giving us the impression that something extremely big is heading towards us. While the crate is being lowered and the men are gathering around, a diegetic noise is added with quite a short and fast beat it, creating a slight suspense for the viewers. The growling of the creature inside the crate has been defined, to make us understand that it is most likely going to be aggressive. As the gate is being opened another diegetic sound is used. But the mood of the music contrasts with what follows in the clip. The pitch gets higher making the viewers think that their plan was successful. But the pitch soon drops when everything goes wrong. The tempo of the music becomes quite fast, showing us the panic. We also hear one of the men shout "shoot her!" several times, this also gives us the impression of panic. All of the background sounds fade out, leaving the gunshots extremely loud. They are the last thing we hear from that scene. It then suddenly cuts to another scene. The sound of the gunshots overlap the two, and then it suddenly goes back the calm sound of wildlife. This helps show us that the creature is dead and the panic is over.

Camera (FAM) -  The first camera shot we see is a CU close up of the rustling bushes. The shot is filmed at a low angle and the movement of the camera isn't very steady. This gives us the impression that what we are seeing may be from somebodies view. The next shot is a close up of a mans face, to show us his emotion, in this case, fear. This may be the character that we were seeing the view from in the first shot. The shots flick back and fourth numerous of times from the bushes to a MS medium shot of the characters. I feel that this give us the impression that it's them vs. whatever is rustling the branches. The next shot shows several of male figures, but slowly zooms into one particular character. This gives the viewers the impression that he is the leader of the group, and may play an important role in the film. As the camera gets closer to the character, it slightly tilts up. This also gives the impression that he is higher in the group, as it makes us feel like he is bigger than us. As the crate is being moved, the camera pans around it, showing us that it is completely sealed. The next shot is from the creatures view, this shows us that the crate isn't empty, and it contains some sort of living thing. At 2:30 there is another shot from the creatures view, this shows us that it is aware that the man is climbing on top. It also makes us realise that the creature isn't focused on being set free - which was the original plan - it is focused on the people around. As the man falls, the camera follows. This is a still shot to show us the emotion on the characters face. We then see a LS long shot, this shows us what is going on around the man on the floor. It also shows us panic. At 3:11 we see a close up of one of the characters eyes, it is then followed by a close up of the creatures. This also gives us the impression that it is the men against the creature. We then see a close up of the mans hand as it slowly gives up trying. This shows us that the man is dead.

Costumes - The majority of the characters are dressed in green uniform, and wearing orange hats with the logo 'Jurassic Park'. However, only one character is dressed differently, with a different hat and coloured uniform. This makes us realise that he is higher up to all the others.

Lighting - The lighting is extremely dark as the scene was filmed at night. The darkness represents bad, giving us expectations that something is going to happen. In a lot of shots there seems to be a lot of bright lights, shining towards the camera. Leaving only the outline of the characters. In other shots the bright lights help show us the characters faces. But the lights make the setting rather mysterious as we struggle to see past them.

Actors - All the actors seem to be men. This is a typical cliché that only men can do this sort of job.

Make-up -  In this clip there doesn't seem to be any noticeable make-up. Other than when the man falls onto the ground, his face is covered in dust as well as his hands.

Props - The majority of the men are carrying guns, this shows us that it is a serious task and what ever is in the crate may be aggressive. This also shows that the film is more likely to be an action, adventure, thriller, or even horror. The crate is fully sealed and we cant see what is inside, this creates a mysterious feel, as we don't know what it contains. The men use taser guns to stop the creature, but the sparks disorientate the viewers as we cant see what is going on.





Setting - The setting remains mysterious, as the lights and smoke block out the surroundings. This also helps disorientate the audience as we cant see where it is set. It also makes the audience ask many enigma codes. The only thing we can really see is trees surrounding the place, this gives us the impression that it is in the middle of no where.

Effects - There doesn't seem to be any effects other than one dissolving transition, connecting the two scenes together. This helps give us the impression that the following scene is based on after the incident.

Peer Analysis

 

Group	How was the use of camera shots?	Use of editing?	Use of lighting?	Overall success of video
Megan and James B.	The camera shots for their clip, was very accurate to the original. Although in a few shots the camera is quite shaky, and a few of the movements are incorrect. The final shot, which was a high angle was very impressive.	Very few transitions were used and no noticeable effects used. By adding video effects and more transitions, the clip would be more accurate to the original.	Only natural light was used as the clip was filmed in an outside setting, like the original.	Overall, the camera shots were very accurate. But the use of editing could have been extended to help match the clip more closely to the original.
Dominic and Lara.	The camera shots were similar to those in the original clip. However, a few were missing and in the wrong order. The camera was also quite shaky in the first shot.	An effect was used to create a cartoon-like feel to it, similar to the one in the original. No transitions were used.	Only natural light was used as the clip was filmed in an outside setting, like the original.	Overall, the clip was very similar to the original. But by adding transitions, this would have made the clip more accurate to the original.
Ben F, Ben S, and Charlotte.	Most of the camera shots were very similar to the original. Although a few of the frames were incorrect. Also the camera was quite shaky in parts.	A cartoon-like effect was successfully used, making the clip very accurate. A good use of transitions also helped make the clip very similar to the original.	Only natural light was used as the clip was filmed in an outside setting, like the original.	Overall, the clip was very successful, as there was a good use of effects, and very accurate camera shots. However, the clip could be improved by making the camera more steady in parts, and using a few more transitions.
James C, Emma and Becky.	The camera shots were very successful, and matched the original ones. The high angle shot was the most impressive, only one other group  attempted this.	A video effect was used to create a cartoon-like feel to it, similar to the original. No transitions used in their clip.	Only natural light was used as the clip was filmed in an outside setting, like the original.	Overall, I think the clip was very similar to the original, and the camera shots were very impressive. Although, I think that by adding transitions, this would have made the clip more accurate.

Juno Experience Reflection

This is our response to the opening scene of the film 'Juno'.
We watched the actual clip numerous of times, and then planned it onto a storyboard. We then went out to film every shot as accurate as we could. Our first shot, to achieve a steady shot we used a bike with a tripod secured to it, aiming to keep the camera steady as we moved it. Unfortunately this didn't work as well as we hoped, as there were some bumps in the road causing the camera to shake. So for the other moving shots we hand held the camera. For the still shots we used a tripod which kept the camera steady.
Besides not being able to create the same effects as the original clip, and not being able to keep the camera steady in a lot of the shots.
From this task, i have learnt that the filming process can be quite time consuming, trying to make sure the angle, frame, length, and acting of each shot was as accurate as possible. I have also learnt that the editing process takes a significant amount of time in order to achieve the right length and effect for each clip. There are many different effects to chose from, so in order to see which one was the closest to the original effect, we had to test them all.
We used many different effects using Adobe Premiere, such as basic video effects, and transitions between shots. After testing many effects we found that 'push' was the closest we could get to the original clip, so we used this numerous of times. For the video effects we used 'brush strokes' and 'posterize' creating a cartoon-like illusion, similar to the original clip.
I feel that the effects we used were very close to the original clip. However, i feel that we was limited to our choice of transitions as there was only a few to choose from, and there wasn't any similar to the original.
If we was to film and edit this clip again, i would aim for a steadier way of filming and make the shots more accurate. For example i would re-film the shot outside the shops. As in the original, as she reaches the middle of the frame the shop changes. However, our attempt of that didn't work as well as we hoped, as she stops in the middle after changing shot, instead of continuing to walk.

Storyboard

Storyboards are created to help show the Mise-En-Scene of the scene. They include length of each shot, angle and frame, a rough drawing of what the character is doing in each shot, and the movement of the camera.

I have made a storyboard for my remake of the opening scene of the film 'Juno'. This will make the filming and editing process much easier, as I have a clear understanding of what each shot contains.