Evaluation: Question 6

Evaluation: Question 4

Evaluation: Question 3

Evaluation: Question 2

Evaluation: Question 1

Art Of The Title

The artwork of the opening titles is important. The animation, colour etc. of the titles is vital because it gives the audience an idea of what type of film they are about to watch. There can be many different ways in which the opening titles and credits can be presented. It's all based on how much they want to reveal of the film from the opening credits. Some films may have a simple white font over a black background. Some films may have different colours, font styles and transitions.


"Enter The Void"



The artwork of the opening credits for "Enter The Void" is one that has opted for constantly various font styles and colours. The credits start with a quickly flashing font and the credits only appear for 1 or 2 seconds which, along with the flashing font, create a delirious & disorientated effect which goes along with the theme of the rest of the film. As the main credits of the film begin, it keeps the same theme as the opening credits but instead of keeping with one font, there is a different font for each credit. The fonts are those which are usually seen on neon signs outside of nightclubs in big cities which is again a theme of the movie. As the credits go on, the animations become more over the top and complex and the transitions between the credits become a lot quicker. This creates tension and gives the audience an idea that it is building up to something big but instead suddenly cuts to black and then returns to the original font with "ENTER THE" across the screen before the film begins. The artwork and animations in these opening credits are highly effective because it makes it hard for the audience not to have the full attention on the screen, which is what the editors would have wanted.

Credits

Opening Credits

The opening credits are crucial in any movie or TV programme because it (along with the closing credits) introduces the actors, directors etc. However, the opening credits tend to be shorter so therefore only introduce the main actors, production company, distribution company, directors, producers etc.

Common opening credits order

There is no written law in which order the credits should appear but there seems to be an average order

Name Of The Studio

Name of studio that distributed the film - Sony, 20th Century Fox, Columbia etc.

Name Of Production Company

Name of production company that actually produced the film or name of people who have invested in the film.

Name Of Producer And Director

One of the most important credits - the names of the producer(s) and directors(s)

Film Title

Almost the climax of the credits, the revealing of the film title

"Starring"

Credits the main actors. Usually around 7 or 8 names are credited 

Casting

Names of the people who directed the casting of the actors for the movie

Music By

Credits the person the score of the movie

Below are a few examples that follow these average guidelines 

"Catch Me If You Can"

"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"



"Reservoir Dogs"

Sound

In the opening scene of "Snatch" there is dialogue throughout the scene along with contrapuntal Jewish-themed music which matches with the characters on screen (4 Jewish men). The music keeps the scene very light-hearted and doesn't create too much suspense and gives the audience some idea of how the movie will turn out in terms of intensity. This has taught me that how your opening sequence sounds aswell as looks will set the tone for the rest of the movie, as is the case in this particular movie. This has also showed me that you can have both, dialogue and music without one overshadowing the other

Representation

Boyz N The Hood

The 1991 film "Boyz N The Hood" depicts life in early 90s South Central Los Angeles and mostly the lives of Black minorities living in very poor areas of America. Since it's release it has seen a great deal of social and cultural impact. It portrays the main characters as being very violent, disobedient to the law and money hungry, even from a very young age which is meant to be a representation of young black minorities living in America at the time.
 The film follows a group of friends who re unite after one of the main characters Doughboy returns from a 7 year period in prison for a shop robbery when he was just 14 years old. This is again highlights the fact that even at a young age, the minorities living in these areas are prone to crime and violence and is seen as a very common thing. A running theme in the film is gang violence and how a large portion of the black community are in gangs as a way of making money and gaining protection. There are various encounters between Doughboy and his friends and a rival gang from another neighborhood. These encounters usually pass without any violence but gradually build up to the point where gun shots are fired and the two gangs begin to engage in a "gang war". 2 of the characters, Ricky and Tre who are part of Doughboy's group are considered to be the more conscious characters who have ambitions of gaining an education and moving out of the poverty they live. They often try to distance themselves from trouble but as the film depicts, no matter where they go there will always be trouble because of the area they are living in. The film tries to rise this issue that black minorities have when living in these types of areas. Ricky's (the brother of Doughboy) character was described at the time as a metaphor for "hope" for minorities living in poverty. Ricky's character is a talented american football player and is hoping to gain a scholarship in order to go to college depending on the score he gets on an SAT test and often makes references to himself leaving leaving his neighborhood to play in the NFL. This often angers the rest of his group as they are considered to be "in too deep" and are destined to die due to a life of crime as this is all they have. This issue of being destined to die in "the hood" is often referenced in the film and is seen as a common issue for blacks living in urban areas at the time. Ricky and Tre both take SAT tests in order to go to college and gain further education. This is seen as a rare opportunity for people coming from their background. This is shown in the film because Ricky, Tre and a female are the only black people taking the test in the school. Later that day, Rick and Tre run into a rival gang and Ricky tries to protest he wants no trouble with any gangs but is shot dead because he is the brother of Doughboy. Doughboy later goes on to kill the gang member who killed his brother. A few days later Tre receives both his and Ricky's test scores and it is revealed that they both received the score they needed in order to go to college. It again raises highlights that most of these young black men are destined be killed in their own neighborhood at any given time simply because of where they live. The film reveals at the end that Doughboy was killed on the day of Ricky's funeral and that Tre would go on to Spellman college.  

Genre

Crime/Gangster                                  

The Conventions

• Often highlights the life of a crime lord/victim
• Often set in big cities and portrays the gritty crime underworld in contrast to the glitz and glamour of the city like the nightclubs, fast cars and sophisticated women
• Glorifies the rise and success of a crime lord or highlights the downfall of someone who is a victim of crime
• A series of small crimes occur before an eventual big crime which is usually the main crime in the film e.g bank robbery, murder, kidnapping etc.
• Sometimes separate stories in the film eventually intertwine with each other to conclude the film
• Usually a power struggle occurs or someone tries to takeover the kingpin in the movie 
• Sometimes two enemies or rival gangs must work together in order to take down the "bad guy"
• Usually concludes with a big shootout in which the main character either dies or survives and gets away before any police arrive with a substantial amount of money  

"Scarface"

"Scarface" depicts the rise and fall of a Cuban immigrant living in Miami, FL. Tony Montana arrives as an immigrant with nothing to his name but uses crime to make money and eventually build an empire. This film stereotypes the "Gangster/Crime" particularly well because it follows the life of someone who has nothing but uses crime to acquire money, women and wealth but is eventually caught up with by the life of crime. The film shows the rise and fall of a crime lord which is usually a convetion for a crime/gangster movie.

"Cartlio's Way"

Carlito's Way is a film about a former gangster (Carlito Brigante) who escapes 30 years in prison thanks to his corrupt lawyer, David Kleinfeld. The film is about how Brigante wants to escape his past and turn his life around but the glamour of the life of crime continues to pull him back in. This again depicts the genre well because it shows how no matter how hard someone tries to escape their past, the benefits of a life of crime are just too much to resist. The film portrays his life as very glamorous as Brigante is usually in expensive night clubs, dressed in expensive suits and accompanied by sophisticated women, all stereotypical conventions of a crime film.

"Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels"


"Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels" is a film about 4 friends who find themselves in debt to a crime lord over a game of card. They must find £500,000 within a week or they could be facing the worse. Although the film has a comedic side it still represents the genre well by showing how sometimes crime is sometimes the only answer when you need money fast. The film portrays many violent (although, lighthearted) scenes which is stereotypical for a movie of this genre.

Institution: Film Industry

Institution

We were was asked to produce a brief for a new film. This was to be presented on a powerpoint in front of the whole class and had to include a main story, cast, director and distribution company.

My groups idea was a low budget horror film titled "Bloody Creek". We chose Niel Marshall as our director as he has directed some successful low budget horror films such as "Dog Soldiers" and we felt he would be perfect for our film. 

Our storyline was a group of boys go on a lads holiday to a cabin on an uninhabited island. They plan on spending a week there and doing a lot of extreme sports. They crash their boat through drunken antics and are stuck on the island, and it will take 2 days until the coastguard can get out to them This doesn't bother them until everything goes from bad to worse and they unleash a curse and are attacked by a group of zombies.'

When casting our film we needed to pick  British actors and in the end we decided on Danny Dyer, Noel Clarke, Stephen Graham and Joseph Gilgun as the "Lads" and Helena Bonham Carter and Gerard Butler as the head zombies. 
When given feedback by the class it was pointed out that Helena Bonham Carter was a bad choice for an actress in our film as she is used to bigger Hollywood films rather than smaller independent British films.

When choosing a distribution company we decided on Momentum films as it is an independent film company and has distributed low budget horror films similar to ours such as "River of Darkness",  "Death Cert" and "The Killing Room" so our film would appeal to them. 

Narrative

Narrative

Todorov proposed a basic structure for all narratives. He stated that films and programmes begin with an equilibrium, a calm period. Then agents of disruption cause disequilibrium, a period of unsettlement and disquiet. This is then followed by a renewed state of peace and harmony for the protagonists and a new equilibrium brings the chaos to an end. The simplest form of narrative (sometimes referred to as ‘Classic’ or ‘Hollywood’ narrative).

A classic narrative pattern that could occur would be:

1. Equilibrium- This is when everything is at peace and all is in order at the beginning of the narrative
2. Disruption- Something happens which is normally bad and disrupts the peace and normality of things
3. Recognition- There is recognition that the disruption has occurred
4. Repair- There is an attempt to fix the disruption and return to it's normal state 
5. New equilibrium - The problem has been solved and the narrative returns to it's normal state

The Hangover

The 2009 film "The Hangover" follows this narrative pattern.

1. Equilibrium - Everything is in order. Doug is getting married so him and his 3 friends decide to go to Las Vegas for a stag party. They get extremely drunk and spend the night out on the Las Vegas strip.

2. Disruption - Phil, Alan And Stu wake up in their penthouse suite extremely hungover and no recollection of the previous night's events

3.  Recognition - Phil, Alan and Stu realize the groom Doug is missing on the day of his wedding 

4. Repair -  Phil, Alan and Stu must retrace their steps of the previous night by visiting various locations around Las Vegas in order to find Doug. With each location they think they have finally found Doug but it turns out to be someone or something completely different 

5. New equilibrium - Stu figures out that Doug is on the roof of the hotel and they rescue him just in time to quickly drive to his wedding ceremony. Doug then gets married and he, Phil, Alan and Stu remissness on the previous after finding out Alan had photographed the entire night. 

Institution: Distribution and Prodcution

Distribution

Distribution is one of, if not, the most important step in making a film. Ever wondered why so many awful movies make so much in the box office? Put that down to distribution  Distribution companies will only pick films that they think will be a commercial success. Usually films with an A-List cast and a strong, obvious storyline. Distrubution companies are in charge of doing everything to make sure people hear about their movie and want to go and see it. Depending on how big the company is, they will usually have huge advertising campaigns like bus ads, internet trailer and billboards. 

One well known Distribution Company is Revolver Entertainment. They are a British company who also work out of Los Angeles.  Some of their notable successes are: Kidulthood & Adulthood, Anuvahood And Sherlock Holmes 

Production

Production companies are responsible for the overall prodctuion of the film. This includes; scripting, scheduling, post production, distributing, marketing and budgeting the film. Production companies are often a company within a big film studio which as known as the "parent company". This means they exclusively work with films that their parent company are making.

One major British production company is BBC Films. They often work with major UK and international distributors and have produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.

Research Into Similar Media Texts

For my opening sequence, I chose the opening for "Menace II Society". First, I particularly liked the sound bridge from the opening credits carrying onto the first shot of the scene. It's effective because the audience can hear the dialogue and sounds like cars driving past before we even see any characters or a location which means the audience doesn't know what to expect. The camera work is very good because it is constantly tracking the two characters, Caine and O Dog. This technique is highly effective because it is almost like we are following the 2 characters around the store which is what the Shopkeeper's wife does throughout the scene and is the basis of the opening sequence. As the tension begins to build between the 2 characters and the shopkeeper, the camera begins to quickly pan between the Caine and O Dog and the shopkeeper as they begin to exchange words. This again puts us in the perspective of someone in the shop watching over the argument because it's almost like a POV shot. The use of off-screen diagetic is effective when Caine is drinking from the bottle because we are focused on him but we can hear O Dog and the shopkeeper arguing in the background so we know something is about to happen. We then hear gun shots and Caine drops his bottle and it smashes on the ground. The camera is still focused on the bottle smashed on the ground because it plays a major part later on in the film. The use of tracking continues to be used when O Dog goes into the back to get the CCTV tape and is still effective in the way it almost places us in the store and that we are following the events that are unfolding. The bottle is again focused on when it is placed on the counter and the focus is on the bottle rather than the two characters behind it. This gives the audience a hint at the bottle being a key part of the scene and maybe the rest of the film. Non-diagetic sounds are then used when we hear a voiceover of Caine as the two run out of the store but we can still hear off-screen diagetic sounds like sirens and the scene ends how it started, a black screen with dialogue.





The opening scene starts with a black screen with "summit entertainment" written across it to signify the starting of the credits. It then cuts to a street somewhere in London where we see the first character's face (Bacon) where he is selling something to a surrounded crowd. The camera begins to track through the crowd so it seems as if we are part of the crowd watching Bacon try to sell his product. It then cuts back to the black screen with another production company, with the dialogue still playing. This happens 3 or 4 more times in the opening scene and we can hear the dialogue throughout entirely. This could be so that the audience is particularly engaged in the dialogue  whilst it appears not much is happening on screen. We then begin to hear 100 Mile High City by Ocean Colour Scene start to play. This starts as the the people begin to rush to buy what Bacon is selling. The song is quite fast paced so it creates tension and gives the audience the sense something is about to happen.We then hear Ed cry "BACON, COZZAS" and the two begin to run off quickly, in time with the song. It then begins to track the two running from the police through back roads. This is an effective shot because it again makes the audience seem as if they are there watching the two running from the police. We then hear a voice over of an older man who begins to briefly introduce the characters.




The opening scene of "Snatch" fits very well with the crime/gangster genre. The entire scene is seen through a CCTV perspective to give the sense that the characters are being watched by the authorities. The camera moves between different CCTV screens throughout the opening which is effective because it creates a POV perspective for the audience. There is dialogue throughout the scene along with contrapuntal Jewish-themed music which matches with the characters on screen.

TASK 3

The first shot we see is a close up of Michael with Janine watching over him. The camera then begins to zoom into Michael as he begins to wake up whilst still keeping Janine in the shot to keep the idea that she's watching over Michael. The camera then cuts to a medium shot of Michael waking up and throwing the cover off of him and him getting out of bed. The camera then pans Michael leaving the room without acknowledging the crying baby. I think this pan is used to highlight the fact that Michael is ignoring the baby and more concerned with contacting someone on his phone. The camera then cuts to a shot of Janine over the baby's basket. I think this shot is in place to, again, highlight the baby. The camera then pans upwards as Janine approaches the baby and we see a medium shot of her and we can clearly see her facial expressions as she stressed and possibly annoyed at Michael for his lack of interest in their baby. The scene then cuts to a shot of a bunch of flowers and the torso of Kat. The camera begins to track the petals which have been picked off and are now in a trail across the bar. The shot then begins to track upwards and reveals Kat's face so that the audience can read her facial expressions and gestures. This track is effective because it is all one shot so it's almost like we are in the bar watching Kat. The medium shot of Kat is held for about 25 seconds before we see her find what could be a note of some importance. Holding the shot for this long is effective because it builds suspense and tension before we see her finding this note. The scene then the cuts to the Branning house and their is another tracking shot, this time of Max. The camera is tracking from behind items on the kitchen counter but the focus the entire time is on Max and the phone he is holding. The phone is of some significance because the camera focuses on it for about 8 seconds before Max eventually throws it to the table. The camera then begins to zoom in on Max's face where he appears to be worried or stressed which seems to be a running theme in the opening scenes of this particular episode. We then see a medium shot of the hallway of the Butcher house and we then see Derek come into the shot from the kitchen.  The camera then begins to pan upstairs which is effective because it follows Derek's head movement. The camera then zooms into Derek's face and again he also shows worried expressions. The scene then cuts to outside Jack's front door, focusing on the milk bottle. We then see Jack's hand grab it and the camera quickly pans upwards to reveal Jack. It then switches to a long shot of Jack in his doorway. This is a good shot because it's almost like we are watching Jack from a distance. We then cut back to the Branning house but this time Max is fully dressed and Abby is at the kitchen table. The camera starts by showing Max buttering toast before it begins to track upwards where we can now see Max worryingly look at a motionless Abby and that's where the extract ends.