Final Post

This blog is now finished and ready for assessment. 
:]

Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

There is a vast difference between our preliminary task and our main task, I feel that the main task is a big improvement on the preliminary. Here are both of the videos for comparison.





Even though the preliminary task was all about continuity, we made a few continuity errors. The first of the continuity errors was to do with an actors bag. At the 0:06 mark the actors bag is on his bag, yet when the next shot comes in at 0:09 his bag is gone. The second continuity error is further in. This occurred because we had to film at two different times, but the second time the location was not available to us so we had to find a similar looking place to film the reverse shots. ( seen between 00:15 to 00:18 and 00:20 to 00:28 etc... )

 I feel that out time organisation went a lot better than on the preliminary task. At first we made a calender on Google calendar, this helped us to make sure all the work was done on time and that we didn't end up getting behind. We also used a storyboard to make sure that we had an idea of what the film would look like before we made our final decisions on exactly what would go in the movie. After making that we chose to create an animatic using photographs from a DSLR camera. This gave us an even better of an idea of how the video would look. When it came to the time to do the actual filming we had brought along a shot list to help us organise the shots, to save time we made sure that all of the costumes had already been selected and were ready to use. Whilst filming we made sure that we had stuck to our previously made risk assessment.

We felt much more confident with the editing program (Premier Pro) the second time around, and I feel that it showed in the end result. The experience from making the preliminary task really helped us whilst editing. Some things, ( such as titles and adding music ) we had to learn along the way. The cuts between shots are a lot cleaner in the main task, compared to the preliminary, this is also due to the experience from editing the preliminary task. The cuts are much more precise and everything seems to generally run smoothly. Unlike in the preliminary task, we used music. This involved finding a copyright free piece of music from the internet and saving it as an mp3 file, from there we could use it in premiere pro. We also sped up and slowed down some clips, which we didn't do in the preliminary task. This changed the pace of the video to hopefully make the audience feel different emotions.

When filming the preliminary task, we had not placed the camera in particularly great places. In one of the shots the actor almost hits the camera. This time around we made sure that the camera placement wasn't just random, we tried to change the readers perception of certain characters, such as the killer, by the angles and depth of field of the shots. We also found that in certain situations, its fine not to use a tripod. Sometimes it's actually better, as I feel it can give a shot a slightly more rugged feel if the camera is moving slightly.

The biggest think that I think I have taken away from this product is the importance of camera placement. A characters entire persona can be totally shifted just by changing the camera angle slightly, or changing the focus of the camera.

Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt a lot about technologies during the filming and planning of the media product, utilising computer programs properly has also been very important throughout the project.

Whilst researching and planning the product two websites had become very important, Facebook and Google. Facebook was used for the majority of our audience feedback, and this proved very effective and useful. We chose Facebook for the feedback as it is very easy to find a wide, or carefully selected group of people to voice their opinions. The reason we used Google was because of its images and calendar functions. The images function was very useful whilst creating our moodboard for finding relevant images quickly and easily. The calendar function proved very useful for time keeping as it allowed us to easily input dates and times to help us with deadlines.

When creating our animatic we used a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera to capture the still images needed. The camera was great, the picture quality was good and I found it simple and easy to use. When we had captured all of the images we imported them into Premiere pro, which we had previously used in the preliminary task. we then put the SD card into the computer and imported the images to create our animatic.

The use of this blog also helped throughout the project, it gave me a place to keep on top of all my work. I could  easily access or edit anything that I had done. It also allowed me to easily present my work to anybody that wanted, or needed to see the work. Another website that helped me greatly throughout the project was Youtube, this site allowed me to view other movie openings from the same genre. It also allowed me to compare our opening to other so I could see similarities and differences.

Onlocation. 

Another piece of technology that we used was a video camera, this was relatively easy to use. Once all the clips were captured we used Adobe Onlocation to "capture" the clips. We connected the camera to the up  using a fire-wire to allow us to get the clips onto the computer, We then exported them to Premier Pro where we edited the clips to make our movie.

Premier Pro was the program that we used to actually piece the movie together, at first it was overwhelming but we quickly got used to most of the functions. Premier pro allows you to cut clips, add music, and pretty much anything else you want. I found this program very useful, without this program I think that the clip would be of a much lower quality. Once the video was finished it was very easy to save it into a .FLV  format and upload it onto youtube.

I feel that the group and I have learned a lot about the technical side of film making, including the equipment and the programs used to achieve a decent video. I also believe that the whole group has achieved a decent level of understanding about editing movies.

Questions 4 and 5: The audience and how we attracted them

Who would be the audience for your media project?

We, as a group, have decided to target 16-19 year old males, from a C1-C2 background who are individualists and some mainstreamers. This audience is quite large and gives the group some lee-way in terms of the content of our film and we aimed at this audience because those were the people which were able to comment on our ideas. Therefore, we believed we could achieve the most effective outcome if we used this target audience.

How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted the audience by using certain features such as low level lighting and darkness, this creates an eerie feel almost always seen in the horror genre. We also used tense, creepy music to create emotion in the audience. We tried to make the victim seem relatively normal, whilst still challenging the residual ideologies of a male. This meant that the audience could relate more strongly to the victim. We also increased the pace of the editing to create a more panicked feel to certain parts of the film.

Once we had finished the actual video we posted it on a Facebook page. In general we got good comments such as:

Callum Andrew William Moore Great work- love music, lighting and how you have done the theme- If i need to think of something to improve, once or twice the picture was a bit fuzzy. In short- very good film :)

Kieren Barr Love the clip, music works well and characters are well presented.

We achieved these good comments by interacting with our audience, we found out what they would like to see in a film using things such as a mood-board. We created a mood-board and showed this to our audience via facebook. The audience liked the ideas for our genre and in general the response was good.



Isaac Jeeves you have a good layout of pictures of various different types all making there own sense of horrific ideals. the eye in the corner makes you read the writing and works well with the black writing and as the main background they all overall create a excellent horror ideas and put them across well with the shady figures and the looks they bring to horror style. they are all horrific and well used images. the only thing i could say to improve is that the red writing distracts from the images and would be better if it was black.

Callum Andrew William Moore The Lighting and dark colours are good for the theme, pictures are relevant and set the scene for a slasher. Perhaps, to improve, the house may need darker colours to as not to clash with the other colour

This gave the audience a general idea of what to expect from the video, this would also have made them more likely to see the final video as they have helped to shape it by giving suggestions for improvements. We took these suggestions on-board when creating the film to make sure that it was suited for our intended audience

I think that the movie was take in it's preferred reading, the audience seemed to react in the ways that we thought they would. I get the feeling that the audience would want to carry on watching if this was a full length film, this is from the general response to those who watch it.I also feel that the audience definitely recognized the film as its intended genre, this is because we closely followed most of the key conventions used in horror films.

I feel that I was successful in attracting my target audience, I got generally positive responses. I feel that they could relate this to other films of a similar genre such as "a nightmare on elm street" or "Halloween"

question 3: Distribution.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A cross over between two companies is what we are aiming for. The two companies that we are thinking of using are " Lionsgate" and "Twisted Pictures". The reason that we we are using Twisted pictures is because they are a well known distributor. They are associated with big, popular movies such as saw and leatherface. By choosing a company such as "Twisted Pictures" we will keep true to the films indie roots. This should push the movie to be of interest to a large distributor such as Lionsgate. Hopefully, using synergy would prove useful. 

We would like to use a secondary distributor to elevate the films status. Lionsgate will provide us with this opportunity as they are very well known conglomerate and this will help advertising. They have been involved with many big films such as "Crank" and "Saw". 

   These companies will appeal to our target audience, semi-mainstream. Twisted pictures will be particularly enticing as they are associated with many popular films of the same genre such as "Repo!" 

   

      We are hoping to get our film into large cities such as London and Birmingham, Lionsgate will help us with this as they can use the power of synergy to effectively advertise the film. 


I think that word of mouth would be very important in the films advertising, even though we are with a conglomerate film company. An example of a way that we could use word of mouth would be to allow small, free screenings. Hopefully, after seeing the movie for free people would reccomend to friends. Word of mouth is very important as most people will be more likely to listen to their friends than they are to a review. 


Another great way to advertise the movie would be using the internet. This is one of the most effective forms of advertising. The reason that it is so effective is because almost everybody will see it, it is also very easy to direct it to your target audience by advertising on sites that they would regularly use. Internet advertising is also very cost effective. 

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Costumes:

We used binary opposition and largely different clothing to create different persona's for the killer and the victim.
We dressed the victim in a certain way to make him seem more "nerdy" and vulnerable looking. we achieved this by getting him to wear his hair in a ponytail, this made him seem more feminine and therefore more vulnerable. He was also wearing glasses, this fits him into the stereotype of a nerdy teenager and making him seem more defenceless.



This contrasts greatly with the clothing that was worn by the killer. The killer was wearing full black clothing and boots, he also covered his face with a hood. This connotes masculinity and mysteriousness, especially in contract to the clothing worn by the victim. This creates binary opposition between the killer and the victim, this in turn makes the killer seem more gruesome and the victim more helpless.  The killer is also taller than the victim, further connoting a sense of masculine dominance.

Cinematography:

We used specific camera angles to show the reader each character in a different way. The victim, in general, is shot from level angles. This allows you to see eye to eye with him. The angles in which the killer was shot are more interesting. In the first and second shot of the killer he is seen from a high angle, and only showing specific parts of his body. This makes him seem mysterious and the audience will want to know more about him. Another good shot is when the killer walks straight into the camera until  the whole screen goes black, the main title is then shown and the killer walks of to the left. When he walks off the audience finds out that he is in the victims house. We tried to film the two characters in different ways to change the audiences perception of them. The killer was shot in generally powerful angles such as low shots, he also filled the frame in most of the shots, giving him a further sense of power. The victim was shot in normal, bland shots to give the sense that he is a relatively normal guy. I feel that we employ mostly residual but a small amount of emergent ideology at the same time, the killer seems masculine and dominating showing residual ideology. But we also show emergent ideologies through having a relatively feminine male as the victim, though this could also be seen as residual as the more feminine one is the victim. 

Editing:

At one point in the video we changed the pace of the editing drastically, we did this to create a sense of panic when the victim actually sees the killer, there are 5 different shots in around 3-4 seconds. The editing around the victim is generally slower, this makes him seem less edgy and dangerous. This also creates a stark contrast between the two separate characters.

The titles also play a large part in creating a patriarchal feel, keeping with residual ideology. The bold red titles in contrast with the black background give a feeling of power. The names of the companies also give a feeling of general "manliness" such as
 "An Ironclad film." The music playing over the whole film also feels very male, and I think it fits well with the genre.

Evaluation: 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our film does not really challenge horror/slasher genre, it sticks to the tried and tested conventions of horror movies. One of these conventions include darkness, this creates enigma by only allowing the audience to see exactly what we want. The characters that we used mostly stick to the normal conventions of the slasher/horror genre. We have a killer dressed in black clothing and a hood, this is used extensively throughout the genre, we use this to create Barthe's enigma code. He contrasts with the victim who seems relatively feminine in contrast to the usual male victims in the horror genre. The only way that our film challenges the normal conventions of a horror/slasher movie is in the way that our victim is male. Seeing a male victim in a slasher movie is unusual so here we are showing emergent ideology.

Our opening can be easily identified as it uses many of the conventions of a horror movie. The red bold text fading in and out of a black background is typical of a horror movie and is used extensively in the genre. The sinister sounding music over the credits is almost always used in horror movies, when not used it can create a sense of tension. A slow pace of editing is also used in out opening to create tension, this is typical of the horror genre. It then speeds up when the victim sees the murderer, this creates a sense of panic, fast paced editing is featured in almost every horror movie.

FINISHED. :)

This is our finished production. 

Some comments from our AS Media Focus Group:

Callum Moore: "I really like it. I think it's sufficiently spooky and really captures all the normal parts of a horror movie. I particularly liked the music."

Isaac Jeeves: " Agree with Callum, it's spooky, eerie, everything you want from a horror."




I believe we took into account our Focus Group's comments on the animatic. They felt that a longer time was needed and some unnecessary shots needed to be cut. We cut an intended two or three shots of POV shots around the house in order to be more direct in approach and we made the ending in more detail so the audience is left in little doubt as to what happens to the victim.

Filming updates

The emergency filming went well, everything was done on time and to a decent standard.

Filming updates

After editing what footage we had, we decided emergency filming was needed. That's another trip to Malvern then! We've decided to reshoot shots 4,5,6,10,12 and 17. All of these need re-filming because of lighting issues- we decided the lighting was too dark.

Filming updates

There was a piece of audio that we didn't want in the clip, so we then used Key point markers to extract the audio that wasn't needed.

This Screen shot shows us using Premier to extract certain shots of the clip and edit them to fit the films Story line.

Planning: Filming

We have filmed all the scenes that were on our storyboard, and we have edited them together. We may have to film a few more, or redo some that were previously filmed.

Location shots

Update: video camera and SLR camera

We have a video camera and an SLR camera booked for this weekend, this means that we should have all the images and video that we need to start editing on monday.

Time Management Update

This is an example of our group's time management. We decided to use Google Calender to keep our tasks up to date, and so we can keep a record of what has been completed and what is still outstanding.

Organisation, Props and Costumes

Thomas: Normal teenage clothes - hoody, jeans, shirt, trainers (Casual) - Nobody needs to be in charge because most of us will have these kind of clothes


Kieren: Dark clothes to create sinister atmosphere - Black hoody/coat, dark trousers, boots - George

Update

Tuesday 14th Dec - We now need to book a camera and agree a collection and return date.

Risk Assesment

Risk	How to avoid it
Household injuries (we are filming in a house) – falling etc.	Be really careful around the house and make sure care is taken whilst shooting movement – as we are filming downstairs, there shouldn’t be a problem.
Tripping over equipment	Don’t leave camera/props/costumes in any ridiculous place (middle of floor/in the middle of a shooting area)
Electricity	Don’t go near a live switch at any time.

animatic

This is the animatic that our group has created, it was not filmed with the correct props, clothing or at the correct location.

Shot List

As a group we drew up a story board covering the shot type, duration of the shot, the angle and whether there is audio place over the top of the sequence to create a sense of mystery and suspense.

shot 2 was a extreme close up of kieren Barr tying his shoe lace with a duration of 3 seconds with creepy music played over the top.

Shot 3 was Mid shot/Over the shoulder shot of tom evans looking in the mirror.

Shot 4. Close up/P.O.V of Kieren putting his glove on as music is played over the top.

Shot 5. Also a Mid shot of Tom doing his hair in the mirror.

Shot 6. Extreme close up of Kieren opening a door, he then walks towards the camera and blocks the shot so the main title can appear, the shot then cuts to the living room of Tom's house, using Kieren as the cut method.

Shot 7.  this is a shot showing the murderer in the Room, but how did he get there?

Shot 8. Close up of tom, focusing on his facial expressions.

Shot 9. its a Pan shot of the curtains blowing on the room to create suspense.

Shot 10. Long shot of the murderer walking towards the door.

Shot 11. Mid shot of tom looking around.

Shot 12. High angle shot of the hall way focusing on Tom looking around suspiciously.

Shot 13. Mid shot and P.O.V of Tom walking towards the kitchen. Also there is a focus on the Knife holder as one is missing.

Shot 14. Mid shot of Tom looking through a gap in the door.

Shot 15. Also a Mid shot of Tom stood, staring in front of him to show his confusion and the fact he's nervous and scared. Also Kieren shoots across the back of tom.

Shot 16. Mid shot of Tom twisting, trying to figure out what's going on, as he turns in confusion. It then jumps to a Close up of of Toms face to show expressions.

Shot 17. Lower angled close up of Kieren looking down on Tom to show he's the bigger persona and the main Focus of the clip.

Planning: story board

This is the storyboard that we are using to help us film our opening.

Synopsis

As the film opens, the audience are shown the preparations of a sinister and mysterious figure through a series of fast cuts and shots. As time goes on, it becomes apparent that the figure is preparing for murder. At the same time, someone else is also seen to be getting ready to go out. The killer then appears at the victims house, and the victim looks around the house suspiciously. As the victim is about to leave the house, the killer attacks. 

We have managed to find the cast for our video, We have casted Thomas Evans (right) as the victim and Kieren Barr (left) as the murderer.

Genre research Summary

After reviewing our research we have found that there are many different sub-genres of horror, and each of those are different in many ways.

1. What do the titles tend to look like?

In general titles tend to contrast highly with the background. Colours such as red, white and black are most commonly used. The font in which the titles are written can vary between different styles of horror movie. Movies such as "a nightmare on elm street" uses a normal font, but it is uneven and wonky. Whereas in "Halloween" the titles are written in a font with sharp edges and points, this could relate to the knifes featured in the movie, or the teeth on the jack-o-lantern. 

2. What kind of sounds feature in the opening?

In general, sounds tend to be of heavy breathing/gurgling. The source of the noises is usually not shown so the audience is unsure as to what is making them. Music is usually high pitched and slow paced, this takes the audience out of their comfort zone as the sounds are unfamiliar and strange. The opening to "a nightmare on elm street" is a good example of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQrZMoWaAZQ. 

3. What types of character do we usually see?

In horror movie openings a character is not usually identified. Sometimes victims and less significant people feature in the beginning, but the killer/villain almost never is. In the opening to "halloween" a murder is witnessed from the point of view of the killer, this adds a sense of enigma as the audience does not know who commited the murder even though they were so close to it. 

4. What kind of mise en scene dominates?

The settings in horror movies can change dramatically depending on the sub genre, but darkness is almost always featured. Large houses, hospitals and woods are used extensively throughout the genre. Although not all openings are intended to scare the audience, some of them put the audience in a sense of security and comfort to make the initial scare more shocking. 

5. What narrative codes are used?

Close ups and cut aways are used to create enigma, tense music and a slow pace of editing can create this, although it can also be done with  fast paced editing. There is usually a large build up to the first killing, this is done using throbbing music and giving the audience a narrow field of vision making them feel claustrophobic. 

6. What types of cinematography and editing styles are used?

Fast and slow editing speeds are both used, to different effects in horror movies. They can create enigma and suspense, or a fast paced exciting opening. The different speeds do not usually change according to the sub-genre. 

Focus Group - Audience Research and Meeting Analysis

After we had created our moodboard, we got our group together to discuss and to comment on it. Admittedly, we had to rush our focus group meeting to meet the deadline, and so our meeting wasn't as smooth as we would have liked, but we did our very best with the circumstances put in front of us and analysed our group's comments as well as we could.


Our Focus Group:


Callum Moore
Isaac Jeeves
George Murphy
David Perkins
James Linsey




These were the comments they made on Facebook...

George Murphy

could you please comment on this moodboard telling me what you think is good, and what needs to be improved.

about an hour ago ·  · Comment · 

• • 
    

    Isaac Jeeves you have a good layout of pictures of various different types all making there own sense of horrific ideals. the eye in the corner makes you read the writing and works well with the black writing and as the main background they all overall create a excellent horror ideas and put them across well with the shady figures and the looks they bring to horror style. they are all horrific and well used images. the only thing i could say to improve is that the red writing distracts from the images and would be better if it was black.
    

    about an hour ago · 
  • 
    

    Callum Andrew William Moore The Lighting and dark colours are good for the theme, pictures are relevant and set the scene for a slasher. Perhaps, to improve, the house may need darker colours to as not to clash with the other colours
    

    about an hour ago · 

We analysed the comments carefully and decided that Callum's point about our "haunted house" idea was a valid one. No one finds a house spooky in the daytime. Therefore, the house, if there is to be one, needs to be filmed at night. We had previously planned on filming the house in the day for practical reasons, but if our audience doesn't agree with that, we have to take that on board and alter our plans.

Target Audience

We, as a group, have decided to target 16-19 year old males, from a C1-C2 background who are individualists and some mainstreamers. This audience is quite large and gives the group some lee-way in terms of the content of our film and we aimed at this audience because those were the people which were able to comment on our ideas. Therefore, we believed we could achieve the most effective outcome if we used this target audience. 

We asked the audience a number of questions as to what their interests and likes were. We then put together a moodboard using photoshop to demonstrate this:

Our target audience's overall preferences (by virtue of majority)

Genre Specific Analysis

In the opening to " a nightmare on elm street" a strange, mysterious character is seen to be crafting a bladed glove,. This creates enigma as you are not sure as to who is creating the glove and why. Darkness also features heavily in this opening as it restricts the viewers field of vision and shrouds the background creating a sense of mysteriousness. The viewer is only shown a small square of video and the rest is surrounded by a black background so we do not see who is making the glove. Clanging tools can also be heard, this connotes a sense of clinical coldness.

The opening of "Halloween" also uses enigma. A point of view shot is also used which restricts the viewers field of vision, a mask is also placed over the camera towards the end setting a trend for the rest of the movie. The viewer can tell what is going to happen before it actually does, this is because the lighting and non-diagetic sounds suggest a sinister event is about to happen.

"A nightmare on elm street" also creates an eery atmosphere with the titles, the plain boring font suggests a normal, safe atmosphere. But the text is distorted, showing something that should be safe and normal has been turned strange and alien.
The titles simply appear giving a plain and raw feel to the opening, this could also create an uneasy feel with the viewer as this is not usually done.




The orange titles in "Halloween" contrast with the black background, this makes them seem slightly sinister and 'edgy'. They give an idea of the plot and they give the audience the time-frame for the movie. The sharp edges in the text remind me of the pumpkins teeth, the colour is also similar to the colour coming from the pumpkin, adding to the sense of eeriness. The titles fade in and out, this could mirror the main character's sense of confusion and the way his character fades in and out and different points in the rest of the movie.

After looking into the title scenes of both movies I have concluded that they both use enigma to create a sense of uncertainty in the audience, they do this by restricting the field of vision and using darkness to keep the audience on edge. Fast and slow editing speeds create different emotions but both are suitable as they create tension and fear.

Moodboard

This is my moodboard, it gives a general idea of the typical slasher movie components. 

First ideas

Genre: Slasher

Group: Me, James Linsey and David Perkins.

Target audience: Age 18-25 years old, mainstreamer. C1-E.

Narrative ideas: Barthes' enigma code, death at the beginning but unsure of the killer.

Character development: Victim, Detective? suspect/witnesses.

Mood/Tone/Time/Place: Eerie/dark morning investigation.

From Script to Screen: How does the credit sequence from Dexter work?

"Dexter's" opening titles takes a normal, mundane morning routine and shows that they all have an underlying sinisterness, this is shown by zooming in on these tasks. Drops of blood fall in the sink and around the title giving an even more sinister look. The sinister activities are only connoted, but these give the audience a predetermined opinion of the main character, Dexter.

Stabbing and strangling is connoted through clips like cutting up fruit and tying laces. 

The name dexter inspired the creative editor, Eric Anderson. 

"I saw that the letter forms in DEXTER are nearly identical right-side up as they are up-side down, much like DEXTER the character. He doesn’t go through a massive transformation when he becomes the serial killer, he’s exactly the same Dexter except somethings wrong. I really thought that would go somewhere."

The opening title gives a lot of information about Dexter. It shows that even though on the surface he looks like a normal man, his actions have an ulterior motive, and a sinister underlay. It shows that he is very much the same as most people, so it gives him a sense of normality. A shallow depth of field helps to add intensity to an otherwise boring clip. A very good example is when the noir lighting and depth of field come together in the close up shaving clip, these set a dark, moody trend for the rest of the series.

The music plays a key part in this section, the music in the background contrasts the grotesque, violent looking clips. The music changes with Dexter, as the music gets more strange, so do Dexter's actions. A track by 'Exploding Plastix' was going to be used at first, but it did not provide the same effect. Dexter was not seen as a 'normal guy', it gave the impression that he was a killer and completely different to everyone else. 

Research - Analysis of "Juno" Opening

The first thing that I noticed when watching the "Juno" title sequence was the music. The song "All I Want Is You" by Barry Lewis Polistar gives an incredibly childish feel to the opening, this works well with the style of animation. I feel that this was the perfect song for this opening, this song reinforces the idea that Juno is still a child. Something else that reinforces this idea is the orange juice that Juno is drinking in this opening, it goes against the normal teenager stereotype as in most of the media teenagers are seen drinking and smoking.   The way that the background seems sketched and stuck on like a drawing and adds a sense of immaturity and innocence. The drawn background also shows that she lives in a bit of a dream world, apart from everybody else.

The main character, Juno, is also contrasting with the background. Everything else you see in the opening to the movie has a cartoon-ish feel to it, including Juno. This could show that Juno is actually part of that perfect world that she is imagining. The clothing she wears is also representative of her personality, she is wearing a brightly coloured hoodie, this could reflect an upbeat personality. The lack of make-up and the plain clothes once more connote a sense of innocence. As she reaches her destination the coloured background fades away, this shows a sense of realisation.


The font of the text also says a lot about Juno's character. The text looks as if it was written playfully. Throughout the opening the text moves about and shifts colour, this makes it look as if it has been made by a child and gives a sense of fun. The text looks hand drawn and it reminds me of a child's colouring book. The fact that the background is animated, yet she is not could show the struggle to become more adult whilst still being herself.

Key conventions of opening sequences

"Brick" title

We recently had to research film openings, we looked at the openings of "Kick Ass", "In Search of a Midnight Kiss", "Trainspotting", "Brick", "Shifty" and "London to Brighton" from analysing these I have found out that opening title scenes will almost always contain the names of actors, producers ect. They will sometimes use techniques like "Written Exposition". This technique is found in movies such as Star Wars and Gladiator, this technique is when text moves across the screen to set a scene or introduce characters. 

"Shifty"

 Ellipsis is sometimes used to show changes through       time or effects on the character, this is when the time frame is changed. The tone and mood of the movie is usually set within the first minute or so of the movie, so getting the title scene right is crucial. Bathe's Enigma Code is commonly used to hook the reader into the story, this is when a mystery is introduced at the beginning of the movie, this usually involves the main character and gives them more purpose in the story.    

              

Main Task

For our "Main Task", we are supposed to create the titles and opening two minutes of a fictional feature film which we will also create. We will have to write our own dialogue and cast actors to play as our characters, we are not allowed to be in the film ourselves. 


Deadlines:
Research - 01/12/10
Photo-Storyboard - 3/12/10
Filming - 7/1/11
Production - 28/1/11
Evaluation - 11/2/11

3 targets

next time I will use more images in my evaluation, as my lack of pictures brought my grade down.
I will also pick a better cast for my filming, as we could not stop laughing.
Also I must use more technical language in my evaluation.