Wednesday 24 April 2013

Evaluation


1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The opening scene for my film is a thriller. I had got inspiration from the film Jumanji, I used this as inspiration as I thought I would be able to recreate the basic storyline with a family and a board game in my own house with my family. Jumanji a film that came out in 1995 based on a supernatural board game that causes different hazards and effects to the people playing the game. The 1995 American fantasy adventure film was directed by Joe Johnston (also director of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1995), and Jurassic Park 3 (2001) and is based on Chris Van Allsburg's book Jumanji.

The incidental music that runs in the background of the film follows the conventions of a thriller film as it creates a spooky and intense atmosphere. The music accompanies the activity going on in the scene because as the tension builds in the film the sound and the pace of the music also builds. I had got inspiration with the music from the film Halloween as in the film the pace and the intensity of the music built up as something dramatic or scary happened in the opening scene. Without this I don’t feel the opening scene would feel as dramatic as it would with the music. I have used only one incidental piece of music throughout the opening scene, this inspiration also came from Halloween as they only have once piece of music through their opening scene. The music starts very faintly as the title sequence is playing, this is done to hype the audience from the beginning of the film. I found the dramatic scene would appear more dramatic if the scenes with less action had less or quitter music. As well as an incidental track I had also added sound effects of somebody screaming and the sound of a message being received on a mobile, these extra diegetic sounds had been added because the real sounds that had been included in the filming wasn’t as effect as I had hoped they would be and so added sound effects made the sounds clearer.
As well as the filming I also had to make a title sequence and film logo which I felt represented the film and the genre best. I had already done some research into different thriller film titles. Majority of the thriller film titles that I had looked into had a black background with white text and so this is what I decided to include in my title. The font I used for the title sequence is very simple and crisp. I wanted the text to be the same or close to similar font that is used on the letters that are used on the game in the film. I got inspiration for the actual title The Game from imdb.com. I had searched the best thriller films and decided to have a look at the titles of the films; majority of the films had very short titles mainly containing only 2 words such as: Cape Fear, Identity, The Machinist and Se7en which I had researched before. I felt the title “The Game” was very simple, direct and to the point like the films I had found in my research.
My first design for the film title was to have scrabble letters that came into the middle of screen to create the words “The Game” I had created this on PowerPoint and then used a converter to convert the file into a file that could be used in Adobe Premier.

I had decided not to use this image as I didn’t feel it followed the conventions of a thriller film and although it looked good it didn’t look like a traditional thriller film. The image didn’t appear spooky or creepy even though the letter moved like the letters on the board in the game.
I then had another attempt at creating a title on dafont.com it allowed me to search a range of different fonts depending on the category I had chosen, and then I typed in the name of the title, changed the colour, saved the title and then imported it onto Adobe Premier. I wanted the image of the film title to relate to the actual film and so I decided to use a scrabble font that was available on the website. I used the scrabble font because of the scrabble letters that I
used in the film to create the words that had been moved by spirits. The font appeared to be perfect for the genre as some of the letters looked scuffed up which created a spooky thriller feel. In Adobe Premier I duplicated the frame a couple of times and shorted some of the frames to give the illusion the title had flashed on and off and back on again.
 I feel I have challenged the conventions by including a brown female as one of the characters in
my thriller opening. British thrillers films tend to have a Caucasian actor or actress play one of the main parts in the film. Also I have another character that wears glasses, the glasses create that geek image someone with knowledge and intelligence. The characters wear clothing that they would wear on a regular basis, I haven’t got them to wear anything that could signal or symbolise anything as I wanted them to look like a normal family playing this game.   
The location in which the film was set follows conventions of a thriller film although some thrillers are set at haunted or isolated houses in the middle of nowhere. I had to change the lighting to a dark blue using the fast colour corrector, this created the feeling of a dark and mysterious atmosphere whereas before the room was well lit which didn’t make the scenes look very spooky at all. The blue created the cold and dark illusion without making the scenes too dark so the audience couldn’t see them. At the point where the letters on the board change I have changed the colour to an even darker colour blue this then creates more of an atmosphere and also makes the audience focus on the frame and what is happening in the scene.  

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I feel my film would be suitable for teenagers and younger adults. The characters in my film are both younger and also older than the traditional typical young adults that would be the main characters in a thriller film. I feel having a younger generation and older generation characters present the fear and naivety better than young adults, also I feel a younger character will be able to present that element of fear and being scared better as they are less aware of the unknown. Three of the characters follow the conventions for a thriller film as they are Caucasian yet I also have another character which isn’t Caucasian and doesn’t follow the traditional conventions of a thriller film. My thriller film challenged conventions by linking the end of the film to the beginning. In thriller films that I have previously watched the story line doesn’t link to the beginning it is normally a series of events that build up to a massive ending. In my film because George, the youngest character, says he doesn’t believe in spirits the actual spirits decided to haunt him.


3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?  
Hammer films is a production company that is based in the UK. They produce science fiction and thriller films. Some of the films they have produced are The Mummy (1959), The Resident (2011) and The Women in Black. I feel this production institution could distribute my film as it is similar
to the style of films they already distribute and also they are not a massive production company such as Warner Bros, they distribute films that are on a lower budget- like my own. I don’t think my opening scene would be distributed by a big budget company such as Warner Bros as it isn’t the type of film that required things such as CGI, added explosions, stunt doubles or green screen shooting.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
In order to find what type of audience would be suitable for my film I decided to research into the Motion Picture Rating System for the United Kingdom. This told me the different age classifications and why they had been set at that age.
U (Universal) This film classification is a film that is suitable for audiences over the age of 4
PG (Parental Guidance) The content in PG films should be suitable for a child 8 or over, although it is advised that the parent decided whether they feel it is appropriate for their child as some of the content could upset children.
12A (Accompanied) The films in this classification are recommended for 12 year olds and older, although if someone wants to see the film at the cinema they must be with an adult to view it.
12 Nobody under the age of 12 can buy or rent a film that is rated “12”
15 Suitable for audiences 15 years of age and older. Nobody who is younger than 15 can watch a “15” film at the cinema or buy or rent a “15” film from a store.
18 The films with this classification are suitable for adults only. Nobody younger than 18 can see a “18” rated film or buy or rent a film that is rated “18” Films that are suitable for adults only normally contain extreme gore or violence and or can contain sexually, explicit content.
I have given my film the rating of a 12A because I don’t feel that it would be suitable to have a PG rating as some scenes such as the door slamming and the atmosphere from the music could become a bit too scary for somebody 8 and under. I wouldn’t change the rating to any higher because I don’t think the content is specifically scary and it doesn’t contain any gore or violence to be classes as a 18 rated film. My film would be suitable for both females and males as there isn’t any specific theme that would only apply to one gender. There are both female and male characters in the film and so both genders will be able to connect with a character.  I did a questionnaire about thriller films and found out that is it manly males that would decide to watch a thriller film.  I have attempted to challenge the conventions of a thriller film by making my film appealing to both males and females.
The types of audience that I would expect to watch my film would be in-between working class and middle class this is because I feel they would be able to connect with the characters better than upper class. I also don’t feel that my type of film would be a film that somebody from an upper class background would want to see. I think the film would appeal to White Caucasians as well as other ethnic groups as it has characters from two different ethnic groups.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
I have attracted the audience by having the storyline about a usual family playing a scary game in their own living room. The role of the family then targets all ages of the public, children as well as adults. I had to make the film appealing to adults as well, as the film being a rating “12A” it would mean that some adults would have to come to see the film with their children and so I had to make it appealing to them as well. The storyline simply is to get the audience of the hype of being scared, people enjoy watching thriller films to be thrilled and to be scared at the end.
The characters are of different ages and different genders and ethnic groups yet again this targets a wide range of the audience. The youngest character attracts the younger audience, the teenage character attracts the teenage audience and the two older characters attract the older audience, the characters together will attract families to come and watch the film at cinemas or to buy it on DVD.
To attract the audience to see my film at the cinema I would create a trailer and also posters or billboards, and newspaper magazines. I would have the posters published in both male and female magazines as I want the audience to be from both genders. I would makes sure that my advertisements are shown at the cinemas before thriller films that are out at the time are shown, as the people watching the current film would be the type of audience that would hopefully want to watch my film. I think a good idea for advertising would be to have the letters used on the board applied onto billboards; if these were randomly spread around the UK it would leave people wondering what they were for. Closer to the release of the film I could give the public more and more clues into the film.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt a lot about using the different equipment and software while making my film. I have
updated and learnt some more skills and ways to use Adobe Premier such as how to change the colour of the frame and scene using the fast colour corrector. I have also used the different lighting such as the spotlight to focus the audience’s eye on a specific point on the image. I also learnt how to add music, sound effects and titles to make the film more realistic and make it appear better. Before I could edit my film I had to create it, I have learnt how to use the cameras to film and how to transfer the files onto the Mac’s. I have learnt how to use various font generator websites such as dafont.co.uk which allowed me access to really cool fonts that wasn’t on the Mac’s. I could then save them and import them into my film. I have also learnt how to record all the changes and research I have done on Blogspot.co.uk. On this I have learnt how to add text, copy and paste text from a work document as well as imbed pictures and video clips.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I defiantly found this task needed a lot more preparation and research in comparison to the preliminary task. The filming and the editing took longer as well because it was important that all the shots were perfectly done. I first started planning out this with another student in my class as we was going to film the project together until she dropped out of the course meaning I had to now create the film by myself. When I did the preliminary task I worked with 3 other people from my class, I now am glad I worked by myself for the project because it meant I didn’t have to wait around to film when other people in my group would have been convenient. Using the camera was the same as when I shot for the preliminary task, I felt more confident using the camera because I had used it before and I had also better knowledge of camera angles. I tried to include some of the camera angles I had learnt such as reverse-shot-reverse, over the shoulder shot, zooming, close ups and extreme close ups.






Thursday 11 April 2013

Casting

George is the youngest character out of the film opening. He is 11 years old with brown/green eyes and light brown tight curly hair with glasses. He is the main character in the film as he is the one that gets targeted. This is because before they start to play the game he says he doesn't believe in spirits and so the spirits decide to punish him for this. George is the character who has to answer the spooky phone call and receives the text asking him "can you let me in?"


Devon is a close friend of the family. He is 17 years old with light brown swishy hair and green eyes. It is his game that the family end up playing, that he found in the family's loft. Devon is very quick to explain how the game works and yet once the family start to play the game he stays quiet.

Stan is the eldest character in the film opening. He is George's dad and Susan's husband. He has very little hair, brown eyes and wears glasses. Stan is also one of the main characters in the film although this isn't shown as much in the opening of the film. Stan tells George that they should play the game "what harm can it do?" It is also a mystery when George answers the house phone he says there was a man on the other side who sounded just like Stan. This leaves the audience thinking if the man on the phone is Stan and the man playing the game is Stan then why is there two of them?

Susan is George's mum and Stan's wife, she has very little to do with the opening of the film although she does ask the spirits the first question "is anybody there?" and encourage everyone to ask the spirits another question. Even though she is George's mum she teases him about being scared. 

Storyboard




This storyboard shows the 9 key scenes in my opening to an fiction film.

1. In the first frame it is a medium shot of the family around the living room table.The camera will be located in between Susan and Stan so the audience can get a straight angle view on the floor and will be able to read the words on it. The medium shot will be used so the audience can see all the characters in the scene the props on the table and also some of the setting. The audience will then be able to see what the characters are talking about.I have chosen not to film this scene as a long shot or an establishing shot because i want the main focus to be on the characters and not the decor of the house.
There will be a close up between George and Stan and then Stan as Devon as the speak to each other, and then a close up of Susan and the board as she asks the first question.
The camera goes back into a medium shot after Susan asks the question. This is so the audience can see the look on all the characters faces and also the action on the board. The camera is focused on George as he says he knew it wouldn't work. The camera being captured onto George as he says this line is important as it foreshadows things to happen later on to George in the film.
2. As soon as George finishes his line the camera zooms out onto the whole of the table onto a high angle long shot so we can see all the characters and the letters moving on the board, it then zooms onto the letters as the last letter is being moved.
3. The camera is then goes back to a medium shot in between Susan and Stan, this is so the audience can see both Susan and Stan talking and the reaction to the family when the house phone begins to ring.
4. Tracking shot of George walking though the living room to answer the house phone.
5. Extreme close up of the screen on the house phone. This has been used so the audience can tell who is calling and the Withheld number makes the phone call more mysterious.
There is then a long shot and a shot reverse shot from the telephone table as Stan asks who that was on the phone and George replying
There is the a tracking of George as he walks back to the table.
6. There is another medium shot as George returns to the table and the lights flash off and on, this is so the audience will be able to see reaction on the character face as this happens.
7. Over the shoulder shot as George and Susan speak to each each other
8. The camera moves from Georges shoulder to in between Devon and Susan so we can see the slamming of the kitchen door and the reaction on George face as he received the text message.
9. The last frame is an zoom finishing off on a extreme close up of the message on George's phone that says "Can you let me in?"

Script

The script that will be used in my opening of a fiction film-

The family are sitting around a squared table in the living room. It is night time and there is a lamp near the corner to light up that corner of the room.

Devon:[talking to the rest of the family] I found this old game in the loft.

George: so how do we play it?

Devon: well apparently we take it in turns to ask questions and if there are spirits in the room it will it will give us a sign on the board.

George: i don't believe in spirits and things not for one second.

Stan: Well let's just have a go anyway what harm can it do?

Devon: Exactly so what shall the first question be?

Susan: Is there anybody there?

[All the characters gaze their eyes on the board, yet nothing happens]

George: See I knew it wouldn't work

[The charcaters are still looking at the board as the "yes" moves into the cente of the board]

George: You moved that!

Susan: Lets ask another question then

Stan: Show us a sign you are here

[The house phone begins to ring]

George: I'll answer it!

[George walks across the living room to asnwer the house phone, there is a small lamp on the table.]

George: Hello

Voice on the phone: [Stan's voice] Can you let me in?

George: Who is this?

[The phone goes dead and there is a one tone sound coming from the phone]

Stan: Who was that?

George: He sounded just like you, Dad

[George walks back to the table, shortly after the lights flash off and then back on]

George: I don't want to play anymore, its getting too scary

Devon: I thought you didn't believe in spirits?

George: I don't

[The kitchen door slam and then a message is received on George's phone saying "Can you let me in?"]

Wednesday 10 April 2013

Production Schedule

Date
Time
Which Characters?
Props Needed
13/04/2013
7:00PM
George, Stan, Devon, Susan
Scrabble Board
Mobile Phone
Scrabble Letters


I have decided to film to opening scene in one night. I will shoot the clips several times to make sure that I have enough footage to edit with. It is going to be filmed on a night time because it will then make the atmosphere more spooky and mysterious. If the film was to be filmed in the daylight the activities wouldn't have the same effect. The props used are a Scrabble Board that has been changed into a ordinary board still using the letters though to be the communication between the spirits and the characters. The mobile phone is also another prop that is used to communicate with the  spirits.

Friday 5 April 2013

New Social Classes (from April 2013)

I decided to do some research into the different classes that would watch my film. I wanted information on the background of where abouts they would live and their occupation. My research showed me that from April 2013 there has been a change in the social classification groups.

Elite - the most highest group in the UK in terms of wealth
Established middle class - the second wealthiest
Technical middle class - a small but distinctive class
New affluent workers - socially and culturally active.
Traditional working class - Not at the level of being deprived with reasonably high house values.
Emergent service workers - relatively poor but has high social and cultural capital
Precariat, or precarious proletariat - the poorest, most deprived class

Friday 8 March 2013

British Board of Film Classification

U symbol means Universal. Films that are given this rating should be suitable for audiences aged four and above. Although it is generally down to the parent to whether the younger children watch the film as there maybe some content that their child may find scary or upsetting. U rated films are aimed at very young viewers such as pre-school children. There is no content related to discrimination, drugs, horror, bad behaviour or language sex related topics or nudity. The audience could see some mild language such as damn and hell and also bloody or bugger but these are stated. Activities such as hugging and kissing, brief fight scene and scenes where the characters are placed in a small danger are allowed in a U rated film, there is also no referencing to drugs unless it is a anti drugs educational themed film. All gay and straight characters are treated the same. The themes that are explored in most U rated films are about; loyalty, honesty, educational or friendship.

PG stands for Parental Guidance, what this means is that the film that has been given that rating is suitable for general viewing although there maybe some parts that are unsuitable for younger children. The content that is in a PG film should be suitable for children around the age of eight and older although it is generally up to the parent to whether they feel the film is suitable for their child. Some of the themes that are allowed to be explored in a PG film are domestic violence, bereavement and racism. A PG rated film can be allowed a few swear words such as "Shit" although it is only allowed to be mentioned a few times, if there is too much swearing the film then goes into the next rating category. Conversations related to sex are accepted although it must be in small detail and gay and straight relationships are treated the same. There may be some blood although actual fight scenes are not allowed. Some drug related conversation is allowed although this should not be made obvious to the audience unless the film is an eductional film based on anti drugs. 

12A means that anyone aged 12 or over can see the film. The "A" stands for accompained which means that children younger than 12 can also see the film but have to be accompanied by an adult when they watch the the film. Strong language is allowed in a 12A film although in must be used infrequently, if the strong language is used alot then it is classed as a 15 rated film instead. The sex content is to be brief and discreet and gay and straight characters are treated the same. The tyoe of violence that can be expected in a 12A film should not be detailed and any use of weapons should not be advertised or glamouroused. Some horror films can be passed as a 12A. Dangourous drug use and also dangouus behaviour such as suiside or hanging can be seen in a 12A film be should not be shown in detail.

A 12 rated film is very similar to a 12A film apart from the 12A is only used at the cinema once the film is brought out onto DVD and Blu-ray it is then given a 12 rating.

If a fiilm is given the rating of a 15 this means that nobody is allowed to see the film unless they are 15 and older, even if they are with a parent. A film that is rated a 15 has more violence, frequent swearing and references to drugs and sex and is a lot more indetail about these topic than a 12 rated film. The audience could expect to see racist activity and homophobic language. In a 15 rated film sexual activity and also strong violence and sexual violence can be shown as long as it is not in great detail. Some horror films are rated as a 15, this must mean that the amount of gore is limited, if there is alot the film would go up to be a 18 rated film.

Films that are 18 rated are for adults only, the content in the film is not suitable for children of any age. There are no themes that the films can or cannot be about. The audience can be expected to see very strong language, this can be used as many times as possible. sexual activity including full nudity  and violence, strong horror and blood and gore, and discriminatory behavouir and langage this could include racism and homophomic language. Drugs can be shown but the film but not be based upon promiting drugs or drug misuse.

R18 is a rating that is mainly used for films contain high sex conent or equvielent containing adults. These films must only be shown in licesed cinemas and can only be supploed by adults in licesed shops. These films cannot be supplied by mail order.

Thursday 21 February 2013

Questionaire Thriller

I asked 10 students aged between 16 and 18, five girls and five boys some quick opinions on what they would like to see in a thriller film.
I asked the 5 boys if they enjoyed watching thriller films and all 5 of them answered yes. The results i drew up from this was that i needed to make sure that my film was at least appealing to men if it didn't appeal to women.

I then asked the 5 girls the same question and not all the girls enjoyed watching thriller films. This result told me that it was mainly boys that enjoyed thriller films and a small handful of girls. I still want to make sure that my film can be watched by as many people as possible.
I wanted to know what they would want to happen at the end of the film or what do they enjoy the ending to be like. Most of the people i asked said they would most like a cliffhanger and secondly a twist. From this if i want to make my film something the audience would enjoy it has to have a cliffhanger with maybe a slight twist to it.


I wanted to know the best location to film my thriller film. I gave the people answering the questionaire 5 different choices and a "other" option where they could suggest any other ideas that i hadnt listed. The most popular was the house and the castle. Between the two i would be most likely to suggest filming the thriler film in a house as it would be easier to get access comapred to filming in a castle.

The type of music the people answering the questionaire said would be ideal for a thriller is dramatic and intense. This would be done to add depth and atmosphere to the storyline.

Questionaire Romantic Comady

A questionaire was given to 10 different people of a range of different ages to find out what they prefered and expected to see in a rom-com film. After collecting the results the questionaire had been answered by 6 females, and 4 males. The age range that answered the questionaire was 8, 16 and under and 2 people between the ages of 17 and 23.

The first question asked was "Where is your ideal location for a rom-com film?"
Our results have shown us that the most ideal location for a rom-com film would be in a town and the least popular location would be set in a working enviroment such as an office or a hospital. From these results I have decided if i am to make a rom-com film then it should be set it a town. I think a town as the idea location has been chosen because its not as busy as a city or a working environment, the audience can then focus on the story line and the characters and not the busy environment. A busy environment might not been seen as very "romantic" location so somewhere that is isolated or has very little people would be ideal. For example Twilight (even though it is a romance fantasy) is set in a village which is very isolated. The setting being isolated and quite with very little characters is perfect for when the main characters have romantic scenes on their own.

The second question asked was "What gender do you prefer the main character to be?"
The results have shown us that a female main character is most popular in a rom-com film. If i choose to make a rom-com film as the female role for the main character is the most popular i would make sure that the character in my film would be a female too.

The third question asked was "How old do you prefer the main character to be?"
The results from this question has told us that the audience prefer it when the main character is between the ages of 17 and 23. This may be because of the age range the answered the questionaire as they feel they can relate to the character more in the film if they are of similar age. If the main character was 16 or younger the audience may not be able to connect to the character as they may be too young to play the main role in a rom-com film. If the main character was over 23 the audience may feel they are too old to be playing a character in a rom-com film. From the results i have decided that the main character in a rom-com film should be between the ages of 17 and 23. Most rom-com films have a younger character playing the main role from example:
A Cinerella Story - 18 year old as the main character
Mamma Mia - 20 year old as the main character
16 Wishes - 16 year old as the main character

The fourth question asked in the questionaire "Howdo you want the film to end?"

The results from this question tell us that the audience would prefer the rom-com film to have a happy romantic ending asapose to a twist at the end or a sad emotional ending. If i chose to make a rom-com film the ending would have to be happy and romantic as this is what the audience answering the questionaire have said they would most want to see at the ending.

The fifth question asked "Which male actor would you most prefer to see in a rom-com?"

The male actor the people answering the questionaire would msot prefer to see in a rom-com is Ryan Gosling. Ryan Gosling is an canadian actor mostly recognized for the role of Noah Calhoun in The Notebook. (2004) Actors such as Robert Patterson and and Zac Efron are mostly known as Edward Cullen and Troy Bolton, it would be hard for the audience to picture them as another character.

The sixth question asked "Which female actress would you most prefer to see in a rom-com?"
The female actress people would most prefer to see is American actress is Zooey Deschanel. Zooey plays a quirky girl next door role in most of the films she has appears in, for example (500) Days of Summer and New Girl which the audience can relate to. If i was to make a rom-com film i would want the female role to be like Zooey Deschanel.
The seventh question asked  "Where would you expect to see the titles on a rom-com film?"
Most of the people answering the questionaire have said that the titles they would expect to see at the beginning of the film and so in my film i would put the titles at the beginning of the film.

The last question in the questionaire "What type of music do you think work best as a opening soundtrack for a rom-com film?"
The type of music that is to play alongside the titles is important to the genre of the film. The questionaire results show that pop music is the most common genre of music to be used in a rom-com film.

Monday 18 February 2013

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Charlie and the Chocolate is a film adaptation of Roald Dahl's book (1964) The film is directed by Tim Burton who also directed Edward Sissorhand and Alice in Wonderland.

The film begins with clouds and mist departing away from the Warner Brother and Village Roadshow Pictures logo in gold, the colour of the logos and also the cast and crew names are in gold because it is the colour of the golden ticket. The clouds and the mist represent the mystery, the magical and the unknown. There is a long shot camera angle of the factory as it moves closer and closer to the building, the long shot angle has been put in so the audience can get a realistic view of how big the factory is. The decor of the factory is silver, brand new-like and shiny this gives us the impression of an unrealistic factory everything is too clean to be real. This ties in with the fantasy chocolate factory, the way in which the chocolate is a fantasy. Realistically you wouldn't have real chocolate been thrown into the air or layered onto a conveyor belt by a balloon. The chocolate Willy Wonka creates is a fantasy just like his factory. There is a close up camera shot of the hand as Willy Wonka places a golden ticket on the chocolate, the close up shot is important as we need to see what is happening. If the shot was a long shot instead the audience wouldn't understand what was being put onto the chocolate. The tempo of the music slows down as the rush of the factory slows down. The golden ticket is slowly put onto the chocolate which creates tension as we are wondering what is going to happen next. Willy Wonka wears a purple glove on his hand while placing the golden tickets onto the chocolate. The connotation of purple is meant to symbolise royalty, as well as the golden tickets, the gold is also meant to represent royalty in the film Willy Wonka is equivalent to royalty, he owns his own chocolate factory, everyone buys his chocolates and is a well known family household name. As the last ticket is placed onto the chocolate the camera angle is of a extreme close up. This angle has been done because it is the final glimpse of the tickets and it also shows the audience the details on the ticket. Once all the tickets have been put onto the tickets the tempo in the music speeds up again to its original fast paced speed as the rush of the factory begins again.
 Outside the factory it is dark and snowing. The snow represent the magical unknown and sets the scene. From the snow we create the impression it must be cold and winter time. There is a long shot of the red Wonka vans being filled up, the long shot has been used so the audience can see the amount of boxes, chocolates and vans it also shows some of the scenery. The red on the vans has been used for importance, in the film to the characters the vans would be easy to distinguish just like we have red royal mail vans. As the vans slowly depart the gates slowly open creating suspense. There is an establishing shot so the audience can see the factory location in comparison to the rest of the city. From the establishing shot we see the factory is located in a town walking distance away from houses. The directors name is last on the screen which follows filming codes and conventions. There is a voice over of narrators voice, we see the voice as the storyteller in the film. As the narrator is talking the camera zooms onto a typical child, we create the impression he is an average school boy from the clothes he wears, he has a casual jumper and trousers and shoes nothing that looks out of place. The narrator tells the audience his name is Charlie Bucket, his name matches the way he dresses, a simple name for a simple ordinary character unlike some of the other characters in the film; Violet, Verruca and Augustus. There is another establishing shot as we see Charlie walking to his home. The establishing shot has been used so we can make the comparison between Willy Wonka's wealthy factory and Charlie's home that is just down the road. Charlies family is poor and underprivileged, the location and the props used tell us this. The way the house is standing has been over exaggerated it is standing slanted on a remote bit of land. Inside the house the equipment is very basic and the spacing is very small and limited. He lives with his family, his mum, dad and grandparents. At the end of the opening sequence the narrator says "Charlie Bucket is the luckiest boy in the world he just doesn't know it yet" this foreshadows future events leaving the audience wondering what happens to poor Charlie.  

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Just like Heaven

Just like Heaven

Just like Heaven is an American romantic comedy featuring Reece Whetherspoon. The film was directed by Mark Waters who also directed Freaky Friday (2003) and Mean Girls (2004) and produced 500 Days of Summer (2009) The beginning of the film starts with the camera coming through the Dreamworks clouds and then carries on through the clouds which represents heaven hence the title "Just like Heaven." There is diegetic sound of the movie soundtrack by Katie Mellua and bright girly colours with the cast and production names. The bright girly colours work well with the soundtrack and the genre of the film because they are sterotypical girly colours. Reece Whetherspoon plays the main female role in a pink dress outfit. The pink symbolizes, feminine, flirtatious and also innocence. The corss dissolves and pans around her suggests a passing in time, and that the character has been there for a long time. Reece Whetherspoon plays the typical female in a RomCom she is pretty, white and blonde which follows conventions of filming. She's a workaholic who works in a hospital enviroment. The dioglue from the toilet scene shows the audience she doesnt have a life outside of work. The other colleuges around her are married or divorced or have children. Outside of the toilet scene the fast tempo music ecomplies the quick, fast paced speed and the rush of the hospital.Her sister is the complete opposite of her, she is a multi-tasking mother. We are told this from the setting of the home. Its messy the mother is rushing around. An high-low angle shot is used between the main character and her boss, this camera angle has been used to show the dominance. The boss has been positioned higher than the main character which shows he has more dominace and power over her. As the main character leaves the hospital it begins to rain. Weathering can forshaowing this that are expected to happen, for example rain and thunder has a negative effect and the sun and warmth has a positive effect. In this case it is raining which gives an insight to the audience that something bad is bound to happen.  

Monday 28 January 2013

The Dark Knight Rises
The beginning of the film starts off with the company and production logos. 
The music is incidental which creates a mysterious and spooky atmosphere. Ice breaking, batman sign coming out of the ice, coming back to life/from the dead.  
Sound bridge, heard the voice before the actual scene fade to black which signals the end of one chapter to another, the end of batman's last mission and now a new story is beginning.Director, film crew and film name are not mentioned because Christopher Nolan wants to challenge the codes of title sequence and because the film is that well known Christopher Nolan didn't feel the need to include it. Low angle shot of the man front the CIA (an American version of MI6)3 men wearing black hoods, the black is associated withe evilness, power and mystery. The hoods are used to cover the men's identity. Since 2000 hoods had received a negative image by been seen as trouble making. The young man who has the un-groomed, eastern European gangster look which re enforces the negative trouble maker look. The incidental music as the hooded men and the young man are on scene creates the feeling of tension, as the music builds the tension and action on screen builds with it. An Aeriel shot as the plane flies though the mountains indicates to the audience how deserted they are. The Aeriel shot is one of Christopher Nolan signature filming techniques. The 3 hooded men are positioned on the floor of the aeroplane in the next shot, the CIA man standing above them the high angle shot gives the impression the hooded men are now powerless and gives the man from the CIA more power and control. The non-diegetic voice coming from Bane is layered and edited with puts more emphasis on the mask and makes his voice sound inhuman like. On the removal of the hood, the camera is positioned as a low angle shot so that is now Bane looks like he is now in power slightly and more dominance over the man from the CIA. The extreme shot, reestablishes the shot. The diagetic sound of the drums creates momentum.