Costume Choice

Costume has a huge part in creating the character that you want the audience to understand and identify their role within the scene. Our target audience has helped us to create a character appropriate for the opening sequence, as it stands the target audience is aimed for adolescence around 14-18. Due to teenage culture today, there are many different subcultures which is influenced by friends and clothing choice.

As a group we created an idea of a young innocent girl but as the audience gets to know her they will realise that the is created in that way to hide her real personality. An example of different subcultures within the teenage years is 'Goths' and 'Emos' which are stereotyped to wear dark colours dressing in black with deep and dark make-up and listening to rock/ heavy metal music. If we wanted a character to be stereotyped in this form we would ensure that she was dressed in black with heavy dark make-up allowing the audience to gain a sense of the scene and create a dark atmosphere. However, as Goths don't make up a wide range of society today, if we was to focus our attention on them it would provide the genre or sense we would like to achieve and would also limit the target audience.

By choosing specifically to create a character with a vulnerable, innocent sense allows the audience to feel nervous and by ensuring that we gain as much audience as possible we have dressed the girl in casualty clothing, still fashionable but not branded clothing therefore appealing to the majority of teenagers and will create an atmosphere of them being in characters position. The make-up on our character will be minimal with a natural look and hair will be tied back. By not giving our character a make-up and glammed up will make the audience feel more comfortable and be able to relate to our main character which is important throughout the opening sequence.

Below shows an image of our main characters costume and overall look:


Instead of using a stereotype of an Emo or Goth which would be presented like:

Choice of sound track

After creating our final opening sequence, it was important that we research and apply the best sound track which is relevant and fits with our opening sequence. The soundtrack takes up half of your overall production and can influence the whole scene, without the correct soundtrack, it can change the view point from the audience perspective and change the whole atmosphere of the scene. Because of this, it is vital that we create enough research by looking at other opening sequences of the same genre and pay specific attention to the soundtrack and ways in which it connects and fits with the scene.

By already produced our opening sequence of a mystery drama, following a young girls journey and dealing with the guilt and loss of her best friend. This has allowed it much easier to find a sound track that fits with this as a happy, loud and cheerful song would easily confuse the audiences and create a happy environment. This tells us that we need to select a piece of music that is sad and depressing giving a clear insight towards the characters life and emotions. Due to not being able to choice a piece of music that has been copyrighted we have to ensure we found a soundtrack that isn't branded or a mainstream piece of work. This involved looking on YouTube at simple soundtracks that do not involve it being copywriter. There are many we were able to select from but as a good we have decided on an instrumental which follows a rather sad tone in order to suit out production.

The track we have selected is liked below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qlHMQGcFtk

Barriers towards our Opening Sequence

Throughout the process of creating our opening sequence, as a group we faced several barriers restricting us from what we would like to achieve.
 

we faced several different difficulties that we had to consider and at some points, change. The weather had a huge impact on our filming due to the wind which caused an impact on the characters expression and the back ground noise which became easily distracting. We faced a problem with props as when we came to filming we were advised to use a photo of the young girl instead of getting the image up on the characters phones as it allows the scene to feel more emotional and stimulating. We forgot to bring the photo when we came to filming so had to go back and make sure that all props that we need including the photo was there for us to use. As a group we filmed out final production over a period of 2 days and were filmed out of sequence. We filmed the outdoors section first when it was day light and nice weather, but we noticed something when looking back after recording that we need to make a slight adjustment and change a certain scene the following day. This meant that we had to take into consideration the weather and wait until the weather was nice and not raining or to dark.

Class work on Exam Based

As a class we have been learning about the different types of sound, camera shots, camera movements, camera angles, transitions, composition and the use of mise-en-scene that we need to be able to identify in the short clip provided for us in the exam.

It is vital that we are producing a lot of practice by looking over different genres of clips and films and identify the different stages.

Here is an example of a clip that has come up previously in a Media AS exam:

 



There are several different camera shots and movements that we would be asked to identify within the exam. There is a close-up on when the boy opposing merlin picks up the object and gives it to merlin, this is to draw the audience attention and build up the tension between both the characters. There is a slow motion in the flight scene when the man fighting with merlin swings the chain, this is used to make the scene more dramatic and express his emotions. A shot reverse shot is used when merlin and the boy are having a conversation at the start of the scene to allow the audience to notice who the tension Is being caused between and expressing their emotions which will set the scene.

Sound

Within media, there is diegetic and non-diegetic sound that we need to make sure we are able to notice the differences within each other.

Diegetic sound is the sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be presented by the action of the film. This can be presented by:

-voices of the character
-sound made by the object of the study
-instruments in the story (source music)

Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the films world which can either be on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame.

Non-diegetic sound is whose source is neither visible on the screen or has been implied to be presented in action:

-narrators commentary
-sound effects which is added or dramatic effect

This is represented as coming from the source outside story place, the sound used to create a dramatic effects - the sound that is added in the editing process.

There are many other sounds including :

Ambeint sound - Sounds including traffic, birds etc.

Soundtrack - Music made specifically to fit that film

Soundmotif  - Specific sound for the character

Asynchronous - When the sound has been deliberately made to not match the visual.

Mise-en-scene

It is important that before it comes to filming my final brief I am aware and able to identify media film language by using a range of different techniques. This will include mise-en-scene which has a huge impact on being able to notice the key effects and the arrangement of scenery and properties to represents the place or movie is enacted. Mise-en-scene is a French work which basically means the composing of the scene

As a class, we have been looking at short clips and been asked to notice a range of different things that we will need to include in our opening sequence. This is called 'CLAMPS'

CLAMPS means:

C- costume
L- lighting
A- actors
M-  movement
P- props
S- setting 

It is vital that we are able to notice these in clips presented to us as it can change the view point from the characters perspective and give more detail about the scene/clip when looking into more detail through mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is crucial that we use this to identify the media language of a clip in our exam and we will be asked to use  representation through the use of mise-en-scene. The representation can vary from:

-Gender
-sexuality
-class/status
-ethnicity
-disability
-Religious identity

Practice Filming

Our group decided to create a practice production so that we were clearly able to identify the shots and angles that worked and the shots that we could improve. By doing this we could notice that generally our camera movement was smooth but there was at times it started to shake which made the production look unrealistic. This is what we need to be aware of when filming the real production and ensure that the camera movement at all times runs smoothly. Below is a clip of our practice film:

Overall, me and my group are very happy with what we achieved and by slightly improving this beggining sequence it could be produced the way we were expecting. I believe that our opening sequence is running as a high and professional standered that is infulenced by the media helping us to improve this in any way possible.