Genre Research

After creating as a group our final pitch and pulling together ideas about the conventions and what we would like to produce for our opening sequence, it is vital that we complete research on the different type of genres and select the genre most relevant to out ideas. Our opening sequence follows an drama mystery genre so in order to start thinking about the conventions I have started to look at other opening sequences within the same genre.

The link below is a trailer from a mystery drama called 'The Following'

 

'The following'  is a brilliant and charismatic, yet psychotic serial killer communicates with other active serial killers and activates a cult of believers following his every command. This is a drama mystery thriller and after watching this clip has allowed me to identify appropriate things that I need to include in my opening sequence allowing the audience to clearly recognise the type of genre I am producing.

 

This may include :

 

- Lighting, dark and mysterious

 

- Choice of location

 

- Type of characters and the way they are presented

 

- Different types of camera shots

 

By ensuring that we involve all of these will allow us to create a mystery drama and also help us to set our target audience.

Preliminary Task

Below is our completed preliminary task which shows camera movement and camera shots. We thought it was important to show our understanding and skills in the practical side of Media Studies and this short clip represents how much we have learned in the past few weeks.

 

If we had another opportunity to re-do this task there would be one thing we would change. At the very last scene the shot was obstuctive by the top of megan's head. The camera needs to be moved at a lower angle so this will not be noticed.

 

Movie Clips - Research

Now that i have analyised the brief for our main task, i can start thinking about what type of genre i would like to create to carry out for my main production of an opening sequence.

'Movie Clips' was a great wesbite which enabled me to look at a varity of different openening sequences containing a range of genres. This was very helpful as it gets me thinking of which type of opening sequence i would like to achieve. Movie clips provides me with a means of identifying different conventions amongst different genres, which will help me decide a type of openening sequences i would like to do.

The Importance of opening sequence

Before creating an opening sequence for ourselves after receiving the brief, it is important that we are aware of the importance of an opening sequence within a range of different ideas and techniques to produce a great final production.

There are several different reasons for the importance of an opening sequence including:

• Setting the tone of the movie and supposed to lure people into the story
• introduces the characters and sense of identity
• Title sequences

Title sequence designs for films has evolved immensely over the years. Title sequences can range from bland black backgrounds with superimposed text over it to simply identify the film (which was the sole purpose in the first place) or they could be wildly creative and fun. The truth of the matter is that a title sequence also speaks volumes about the movie itself before it begins.

After taking this into consideration, it has allowed me to notice the importance of getting the opening sequence right and produced to the best of my ability. I am now aware and clear on the importance of titles and the different ways in which they can be advertised on the screen.

Preliminary Task

We were asked as a group to create a short scene for our preliminary task. The scene that we were asked to create has specific roles that we had to do to show the camera movement and shots. In out scene we had to make sure that we included someone walking through a door with a match on action shot as well as a shot reverse shot with dialogue. Before we could record this scene, it was important that we sketched out a story board for each different shots that we were asked to present. This was to allow us to keep on track on which shots we had to film and the order of it. Here is a image of our storyboard




After our storyboard has been completed we were able to start filming. 

Camera Shot Task

For our first time using the cameras we had been asked to create a short clip that will include different camera shots and a variety of camera movement. The clip that we created includes a still panning shot were the camera is moving but the subject stays still. We also created a shot were the camera is following a moving object, for example following a moving bus. The clip also shows a tily up shot, this shot begins low down and the camera slowely moves up to reveal the actor of the object. As a group we also decided to film a over the shoulder medium shot which shows two people in the frame, but showing the reaction of one actor whist the others back it towards the camera to show them having a conversation. Once all the filming had been created and was happy as a group that we have provided enough different camera shot movements, we then focused on editing our clips together into one short video. Here is our short clip showing different camera shot movements:

Recreation of Short Clip

As seen from my last blog, we presented our story board as a group of the recreation from the beginning scene of 'Scream' from High School Musical Senior Year. The reason for choosing this clip was because it has a varitey of different shots, movements and angles such as panning and low angle shots. This clip was very simple and didnt require anything too difficult for us to try and recreate. Here is a video of the clip, we recreated the first 5 minuets of this clip:

Before we was able to start filming we had to decide as a group on a appropiate locations for the clip, and make a story board so we was aware of wait to aim for and how many seconds each shot should consist of. We also needed to think about if any props was needed in our recreation so had to make sure we was able to access them for the day of the recording. Once we had filmed our clip we then had to think about the editing and effects that we would like to adjust to the clip to give it more of an effective and profeshional look. Here is our final outcome:



Short scene recreation - Story board

The next task we were set was to recreate a short scene of our choice. My group chose to recreate the beggining scene of 'scream' from High School Muscial 3 Senior Year. The clip of this is below:

We chose these scence because it has a variety of shots and camera movements but was still slow paced and simple enough for us to try act ourselves. Before we could start, we had to draw out a story board that we wanted to film, here is a photo of our story board we designed.





Next we will be able to act out these scenes.

Editing

After filming my first camera tasks is is important that i edit the shots together and ensure that i was thinking about the film language and apply what i have previoulsly learnt about filming and editing to my camera task.

Editing is a very important part of any media filming as it finalises your production which helps to make it look professional. There are several different types of editing techniques that you have to make sure you include when nessassary such as cutting which is the main process of editing. This allows scenes to become linked together in the desire way and gives it the structure and links which is helps to provide the narrative. Some other editing skills that can be applied are:

• Eye-line match
• Crosscutting
• Pace
• paralle editing
• Insert
• 180 degree rule

Camera Shots - Movement

In todays assignment as a class we looked through the different types camera shot movements throughout a film. There are several different ways the camera moves around to give off a different effect which may inquire differnent technology to help. Below i will give some examples of the different camera shot movements:

- Pan Lef to Pan Right means moving the camera to bring the audience closer, showing them all sides of the character as an example.Moving the camera lens to one side or another, looking to your left then looking to your right - that's panning. 

- Tilt up to Tilt down means Moving the cameras lens up or down while keeping its horizontal axis constant. Nod your head up and down - this is tilting.

- Zoom in (lens) to Zoom out involves changing the focal length of the lens to make the subject appear closer or further away in the frame. Most video cameras today have built-in zoom features. Some have manual zooms as well, and many have several zoom speeds. Zooming is one of the most frequently-used camera moves and one of the most overused. 

The image above shows all the different camera movement that's available to process a film. It is very cleaver what the camera is able to do, and with the correct technical equipment it expresses a more realistic movement making the film look more professional and believable. 

Camera Shot - Anaslis

In Class today we looked at short clip from 'King Arthur' analising the different camera shots throughout and why they are used in this flim, is it to present something for a sertain reason?

 

The clip above is from 'King Arthur' the battle. It presents a vast amounts of different camera shots to analise who are the man charachters and to repersent the location it is taken in. There are close up shots at the biggining of the clip to the main characters face expressing there emotions of how they are feeling. They used a close up shot to make the audience aware who to focus on. There are also long distance shot to show were it is located in and who else may be in this scene. It shows the other group of men coming towards them to battle in the distance.

I also looked at a short clip from 'Insidious' called 'The smiling family'. This is a horror flim so the camera shots used are to bring the audience in gaining there attention to cause tension.

At the bigginging of the clip as the man is walking down the stairs it shows a medium long shot to represent the location of were he is and what he is doing making it clear for the audience to understand. As he gets closer to the womens face shining the light it becomes a close up shot allowing you to understand the characters and to draw in the audience. Near the end of the clip as he goes to leave the room it shows an reverse angle shot as it gives you a clear image of him expressing his emotions with anxiety, then a shot looking back to what he was looking at to make it clear why he was feeling that way. 

In a clip there are ruffely around 200/250 different camera shots which helps the audience to identify the location, characters, emotions and setting the scene. 

Camera Shots - Distance

There are a many different types distance camera shots which tells you a picture/story behind the image. By how close the camera distance is or the way the shot it taken can cause tension or tell a story before watching the film.

These are a some different distance camera shots from different films:

- Extreme close up shot - (EUC)

This image above was taken from the film 'Insidious' which is a Horror film. The image represents a close up of a lady's eyes looking up which gives the impression she is worried or anxious. This makes the audience prepared that something is likely to happen making them feel terrified before anything is shown.

- Close up Shot (CU)

 

This close up is taken from the film 'The Hunger Games'. Close ups are also very useful when trying to add emotion to the conversation. Whether the emotion is sadness, anger or fear a close up of a characters , can be so powerful in getting that emotion across without using any dialog. The image above expresses the young girls sadness and hope. She looks as if she is in pain and looking up to help and protection.

- Medium Shots (MS)

 

 

This medium shot is taken from the film 'Mean Girls'. This image shows two of the girls sat together in their school canteen having lunch. This is a medium shot as it show two of the girls upper body's and the location it is placed in. Medium shots are good for setting the scene, it gives the audience more of an idea of the location and the girls body language.

 

There is a difference in 'Medium Shot' and 'Medium Long Shot'. The image below is taken from the same film 'Mean Girls'.

 

 

 

The difference is in medium long shot you are able to see the girls full body and the location and normal how relating to the world around them. This image expresses the girls emotions by showing there facial expressions related to their body language which gives the audience a clear image of were they are and how they are emotionally feeling or experiencing.

 

- Long Shot (LS)

 

 

 

 



 



This image above is an example of a 'Long Shot'. A long shot image as you can see is more about the scene and location, not all focus on the characters. This is a very dramatic image as the location stands out in the image letting you know what's going on and why they are placed in that area.

 

- High angle and Low angle shots

 

 

This image represents a 'High angle shot' looking down on little Militia which makes her feel and look extremely venerable. It makes the small girl appear weak and scared as if she is being looked down on and not wanted. Any image that is presented from a high angle is used to make the characters have a lack of power.

 

The image above is a 'Low angle shot' which clearly label's the differences from high angle to low angle. Low angle shot represents a sense of power showing the characters skill and talent. Bat man in the image above is made to gain strength and be looked up to as a leader. He is made to look effective and already tells the audience that he is to lead.

 

- Dutch angle shot

 

 

The image above exemplifies a titles image. It is an easy way to establish a character in a film or image. He looks very worried as If he shouldn't be in that room. He lets off a sense of discomfort and shows him looking at something towards the right up high. This means he could be looked as venerable an weak. 

Analysis of short clip's

In class today we watched a short clip called 'get carter car park scene'. I am going to focus on the characters and there relationship shown throughout. From without even starting the clip it showed a clear image of who was the main character. This was shown as the man was with 2 other work men which were both dressed in a black suit but he was wearing a silver suit. This tells us that by what the characters are wearing tells us a lot about their role in the film. Also which was clearly noticed was that the two work men were directed a lot further away from the camera, compared to the man in the silver suit which was stood a lot closer to the camera. This gives the impression that he is the boss and a lot higher class than the two men standing further away. As Ian Hendry (Northern man) walks out of the cabbing in anger, it shows a Michael Caine underneath him in a dark shadow which represents a dark and broad character which already builds tension to the scene. As Ian Hendry bumps into Michael Caine unexpected  his body language sharply changed and his voice tones saying 'Jack?' Very sharp and efficient. His body language changes rapidly from an anger to held back stooped posture, This gives the impression that he was scared and worried to see Michael Caine and is now have control over him.

Similarly, I watched a short clip from Wolverine called 'brotherly fight'. This clip shows tension between Wolverine and his Brother Victor (dressed in black). Wolverine expresses his anger by bursting through the double doors with a very broad posture. Victor seems very relaxed with a clam voice when talking to Wolverine which makes him gain power to this scene with a tension build. Wolverine walks in through a dark shadow which also presents a dark image on his character.Victor shows a very clam character towards the start of the scene, but rapidly jumps over to wolverine express his feelings of anger and frustration. This is a action film including flighting similar to the clip 'get carter car-park scene' above.