Film Audience

Different Types of film have differnt type of audiences. some may like all types of films and others may like a specific type of genre. Film Audiences require a focus on film demand and supply, the consumption of film, including going to cinema and the importance of home cinema and the internet, together with the significance of digital technologies in delivering different kinds of film experience.

Some recent research about thriller films shows films with thrillers are watched by those aged between 15 to 25 mostly, which shows that a majority youths have a greater interest in thrillers, possible reasons for are the suspense, mysteries, suspicions, actions which take place attract their attention hugely. However, despite the large interest from the younger audience, thriller is one genre that can attract anyone regardless of what age they are. 

Introducing Genre And Subgenre

Genre is the type of movie/category that the film producers choose for their production, often it is aimed  at a specific audience.

Cross genre is when you cross two or more different genres together, for example; Thrille & Horror, Comedy & Romance and sci fi, fantasy and adventure.

The conventions of action movies are:
. Fast Moving
. Some slow contrast to action
. Weapons
. Fighting
. Car chase
. Stunts

Genre is important to PDE (Production, Distribution and Exhibition) because it helps the producers know what type of conventions they're going to use for the movie, for instance in a action movie there will need to be fighting and stunts to appeal to the target audience. Distribution will help the marketing aspects such as advertisements and posters, representing the type of genre it is to the audience and gain a greater demand

Health And Safety Tutorial

In Dans lesson a couple of weeks back were introduced to the equipment which we would be using for our own thriller opening. it helped me understand how to use the equipment with care outside and inside of college. we were shown how to insert memory cards into the equipment, one for pictures and one for videos. We also learnt how to use the tripod appropriately when needed to film. this was all shown by a video created by Candi Media which was very useful and helpful to me of understanding the health and safety rules with the equicpment.

Film Opening Conventions

Here is the opening scene for I Am Legend, i very much like this opening scene as it is very different to other film openings. In the beginning there is a conversation between the two women talking about curing cancer, although this may seem unusual for the audience but at the same time its makes the audience excited to find out what this is about (there is no cure for cancer yet which makes it more interesting), studio identity is used (Warner Bros) but in a very different way compared to how they normally would do it with the blue background and yellow logo, this time they isolate it in the streets, this matches the atmosphere that is set and mood, we can clearly see throughout the opening scene that everything is isolated and scattered everywhere, so just like the studio ident and the actors names is scattered anywhere: in the middle of the road, on shops and on traffic lights.The location and setting is familiar: its the city of New York but in an abandoned and isolated condition. just before the title sequence comes up there is a voice over by the main character which is a very familiar convention in film openings, you can hear his soft, innocent yet scared voice asking for help, this also creates the atmosphere and the mood. The title sequence is very simple and the size if each word represents the meaning of the word, "I" refers to Robert (will Smith - main character), the letter is "I" is very small and represents Robert because he is in this vast city all by himself and isolated so he feels really small, in comparison to legend which is really big. Then Finally after the title sequence the key character is introduced which is Robert played by Will Smith: he is in a sports car with a gun and his dog, with the isolated city around him this then automatically creates a genre which is an action thriller/horror.

Pitch

Analysing a student's film opening

I've been browsing around the hall of fame page and the film opening that I decided to talk about is 'Stroke'. The opening of Stroke has a strong and firm feel to it. Slowly dragging the audience into it, it formally briefs us about the type of genre it is going to be by the dark and gory colours of the title sequence. The opening applies the main techniques when recording- Camera, Editing, Mise en scene and Sound. I notice they use a close up on the glass, it is the first thing that is shown in the scene. It suggests that the glass could be a very important factor to the character and could have a huge part to play in their plan.

A close up to show the expressions that are on the character's face. To show the audience some discomfort in his character.

This part of the opening is an editing perspective shot, where we are looking at the papers in his point of view. To show that he is up to something. The Mise en scene in this scene shows that the character in messy and obviously done a lot of research. It shows that he is dedicated in doing the task and that he is very lonely.





The sound in the opening creates awareness and tension. The non-digetic sounds makes the audience feel that the character shouldn't be trusted. It also creates a sense of isolation to the character.

Review of Prelim

The prelim was a short filming activity that each and everyone had to do. We drafted our idea as a group, picking out certain props that we liked the most. From the cowboy hat and gun, we decided to use the same theme as Django. Where Benjamin played the character 'Django', Mohsin played the evil villain, Phoebe played the helpless slave and Rahi done the recording. Some aspects of the tasks were successful, for instance we were able to add in a match cut as required and even use the rule of third at some point of the recording. We added dialogue as it was compulsory and also used panning on some of the characters to show the point of view of the other characters. However some shots didn't seem to fit in the recording, the over the shoulder shot was a complete mess. The characters were not positioned in the right way and it made scene look unprofessional. Also the lighting in one of scenes made the character (Benjamin) look like a shadow. Overall I think the prelim was more successful than bad, it held most of the required aspects and was done in a limited amount of time. However if we were to do this again, I would closely observe the location I am recording in and make sure to double check on the angle of the shots.

Storyboard of Filming

Potential Target Audience

From the planning of our thriller opening, we have decided to do a romantic thriller. Where one character is desperately in love and overtime becomes obessed. Now, we are currently thinking about who our target audience is going to be and the people that will possibly relate to the plot. In order for everyone to have an idea about who our target audience are going to be, Benjamin done a quick brainstorm. 

• People interested in romance

• People in relationships

• Teenagers

• Young adults

• People that have suffered from heartbreak.

Overall, we decided that our target audience is going to be teenagers and people that are interested in romance.

Foley Sounds

Foley sounds are digetic sounds that are heard on the set that are recorded seperately and added in by the post production team to enhance the quality. Most sounds that the audience hear are produced by a foley artist, these are the individuals that create the sounds by tampering with many objects, the objective is to get a sound that sounds as real as possible to the audience and not make them feel some discomfort when watching the movie. Footsteps, punches making contact or horses galloping are all examples of foley sounds; created in a unique way to achieve realism within the sound department.

Here's a quick clip! Showing what the foley artists do best.

Prelim Photoshots

Thriller Planning

For our thriller, we have come up with a few ideas about what we'll be doing. Initially, Mohsin came up with the idea of doing an action thriller where Benjamin is been chased by him. The opening that inspired Mohsin was the hit movie Quantum of Solace and here's the clip.
 
However Benjamin and Rahi had the idea of doing a Romantic thriller where the character suffers from serious heart break and results in binge drinking. Some scenes ideas were influenced from the movie Psycho by an oppressive lover desperately trying win over a person's love but then becomes a killer.

The main props that we are going to be using is:
Alcohol bottle, Bed, Photo.

The location that we are thinking of choosing is the River Thames and in a house. We are also thinking of keeping to original font.

Foley Sound

Foley sound is Diagetic sound that is added on the a finished footage, these are performed Foley artists. This is done because non-diagetic sounds often does not come out very well and sounds thin and hollow, and it makes it look rather more amateur than professional.

Here is a better understanding from this video clip:

Django Prelim

In some parts of this clip, we couldn't find the correct clips to put inside the video so we had to make do with what we had.

Planning of Prelim

Our Prelim had been decided by the group would be based on the film Django. Once that was done we had agree on whats props would be needed in when doing the filming as Django is a Cowboy film, guns and Cowboy hats were essential in our Prelim, and we also had to decide who would play which character. Ben, was eager to play the title character Django, whereas Moshin and Pheobe were satisfied playing the Chief and Beatrice respectively, whilst I would be directing and recording the whole thing. Before we had to record we had to think about what shots would be needed in the Prelim, we decided a Match Cut would be used when Ben is opening the door. Furthermore, I would also perform the Over the Shoulder shot, when filming the converstion between Chief and Django. The finished Prelim is in the following post, enjoy!

180 Degree Rule

The 180 Degree Rule is an important aspect of a camera shot, as the camera is recording from one side of a circumference, and the shots are not being taken passed the line of vision. Techniques such as panning and tracking are done within one side and do not pass the line of vision.

An example from the viewers pint of view of this would be like watching a football match on television with the runner going to the right and all of a sudden we cut to him running to the left.

 

Different types of Structure of Film Openings

Structure of film openings are when making a film. There are three types of film openings, these are:

• Narrative Openings
• Credits over a blank screen
• Discrete Openings

Discrete film openings that are stylish and  have been heavily edited, this is supported by the credits and titles, as they too are stylised, however they are done to separate it from the film, and stand in its own right.

Narrative opening is usually the opening of the story/beginning of the film. It's usually a scene from the movie that is pivotal in the storyline, This maybe a flashback or a flash-forward or introduce a character.  A narrative opening is usually engaging and gets the audience guessing what is happening or going to happen.

This is an example of a discrete openings, from the film Deja Vu. 

Here is an example of Narrative Opening, from The Shining.

This is an opening of Halloween, which has an example of opening using Credits over a blank screen.

Planning of our Prelim

For our prelim, we needed to draft some ideas about what the plot was going to be. First we had a group discussion about what we wanted to do individually then we got a hold of some props that were given to us and from the cowboy hats and gun, we were able decide to choose the theme of Django. In order to be successful, we had to follow some vital procedures e.g 180 degree rule, match cut, over the shoulder shot and other different types of shots. The prelim also needed to have some dialogue in it. Taking this into account, our group quickly decided who was going to play who and what they was going to say. Planning helped our group immensely because we were able to have a firm guidance that would allow us to follow a well structured idea.

The 180 degree rule

There are many techniques that are used by cameras eg wide shot, close up, panning etc however the 180 degree rule seems to be a different thing. The 180 degree rule is where the camera is placed on side of the set. The reason that this is used is to not to disorientate the audience from the constant changing of sides. Here is example of it:

Storyboard of Django

Editing of the title sequence

This is the finished video of the opening scene of the thriller video 'MockingBird' which I edited the opening sequence. Enjoy!

These screen grab shots show the editing that I have done on Final Cut Pro.

Here this images displayed is the editing of the introduction of an actor, which is a convention of an opening sequence.

These two images show he editing work that is being done in Final Cut Pro, such as entering the the different title sequence in a specific order, and putting into the clips.

Analysis of Title Sequence

Our analysis of Title Sequence

Film Opening Timeline:

Company Ident - Universal Studios - Creator of the Film. (0:00 - 0:15)

Picture Ident - Colombia Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer (0:22 - 0:25)

Relative Media Association (0:27 - 0:30) 

Director Ident - Tony Scott (0:40 - 0:42)

Actor 1 - Denzel Washington (0:45 - 0:48)

Actor 2 - John Travolta (0:49 - 0:52)

Film Ident - The Taking of Pelham 123 - (1:15 - 1:19)

Location - Rail Control Center, Midtown - (1:20 - 1:24)

Other Actor Intro - (1:44 - 2:34)

Casting Ident - Denise Chamian - (2:36)  - Special Effect Used

Costume Design Ident - Renee Ehrlich Kalfus - (2:28)

Music Ident - Harry Gregson Williams - (2:54)

Co-Executive Producer - Linda Favila & Anson Downes - (2:57)

Editor Ident - Chris Lebenzon - (3:00)

Production Designer Ident - Chris Seagers - (3:17)

Photography Ident - Tobias Schliesser - (3:32)

Executive Producer Ident - Barry Waldman, Michael Costigan and Ryan Kanvanaugh - (3:35 - 3:42)

Producer Ident - Todd Black & Tony Scott - (4:00 - 4:05)

Producer Ident - Jason Blumenthal & Steve Tisch - (4:10)

The are plenty of idents in the title sequence in a short amount of time, thus there is fast paced movement, which is complemented by the action taking place in the opening of the film. 

Sound-The final edit of film

Intertextuality

Intertextuality: is the shaping of text by other texts - the interrelationships between texts. Intertextuality is taking inspiration of a scene from one film and using it on another, but with changes to it made, with similar set of conventions.

Psycho (1960)

shower scene in Alfred Hitchcocks 'Psycho' is one of the classic scenes in film history. This has inspired producers to borrow and implement them onto other films with various conventions that are alike to that in Psycho.

Fatal Attraction (1987)

The kitchen knife that is used in this scene is the same in the one that is used in Psycho, which shows an example of intertextuality. Another convention that is used is the white tiles and white shower curtains, these elements of the are also borrowed from the shower scene from Psycho.

Final editing practice with sound and titles

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/coraline/
Caroline 

This is an animated film and because it is an animated film i know that the targeted audience would be for children at the ages of 11 and under. This film has a discrete title sequence; showing us what the film is going to be about. And because it is a discrete title sequence everything shown in the opening is in a medium or a close up shot to see everything vlearly in exact detail to make sure that the viwers/ audience get and understanding of what is going to be happening. The sound in the opening sounds like the type of music you wouold hear coming froma  jack in the box, once again telling us that the targeted audience are for children and mostly girls. The opening of 'Caroline' shows us machines making a new doll out an old one, through the editing it makes it seem as if it is the audience who are making the doll, this is very good because it engages the audience more making them interact with the charcters in the film even before the film has started. With the machines and dolls it is clear that the opening is in a factory, also the setting ahows this aswell.


http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/days-of-heaven/ 
 Days of heaven

This is another discrete opening, this opening sets the characters, settings and the time in which this film was set in. The music is almost like some sort of dreamy/ wonderland type of music. All the scenes in this opening look like photographs, they all could be linked together in some sort of way for example; family, finacial status, background or environment. By the mise en scene it tells me that this film was shot a long time ago and it was based around poverty so this film could be showing people an insight on how the poor people used to live in them days.



 

intertextuality is when a film copies a certain scene from another film, not only can it be the scene but it can also be the camera angles, costumes, type of lighting and props. 

The scene that some films get ideas from is the famous shower scene in the film 'Psycho'. Many films has copied this by someone getting murdered in the bath tub, the type of clothing that the protagonist wears, the setting of the bathroom and the type of knife used. 

Film audiences


Every type of film have differnt type of audiences. some may like all types of films and others may like a specific type of genre.

The targeted audience for thriller films vary, thriller films could be targeted to people 18 and above as the age rating says, however, people younger than 18 years still watch thriller movies. To be specific thriller films are normally targeted at teenagers and young adults from the years 15 - 22/23. it is not rare to see people above this age wanting to go to the cinema to watch a thriller movie about people younger than themselves getting killed. 

Thriller SubGenres

Supernatural thrillers inspires me more out of all the other subgenres, reason being is because, supernatural thrillers are more enaging to me than other thrillers. When comparing an action thriller to a supernatural thriller, the supernatural thriller would be more interesting and scarier because in that movie you would see things that wouldnt happen in real life and things that could be beyond your own imagination other than action thrillers where the action in the film would be more dominant and would take over that 'thriller' feeling.

Genre means the category on which the film is based on and sungenre is the category that is subdivided by a larger genre.
Examples of a genre: Thriller, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure etc.
Examples of a  subgenre: Romance; This category would have certain features that would link to comedy, drama, sexual/erotic films. A romantic film would always consist of a man and a woman who are in love and at some part have a sort of argument that would break them up, then they would get back together again and their relationship would be stronger than it was before, they would either get married or the ending of the film would show what their future is going to be like.  

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/buried/


The film 'Buried' follow the conventions of film openings quite similarly by doing the following;

• Production in title sequence
• Distribution in title sequence
• Actor 1
• Film title 
• Music by...
• Make up by...
• Costume Designer
• Art Director 
• Visual Effects 
• Sound Design 
• Edited by
• Music 
• Director of photography 
• Executive producer 

Even though they are all not in the same order some of them follow the conventions in the correct order for example by having the production and distribution at the beginning and then having the executive producer and director of photography at the very end of the sequence. 

Edited a Title Sequence

In today's lesson, I've been working on clip that was allocated to us. We had the chose to pick out of the two clips, I chose clip B because it had better lighting and more techniques. I edited the clips and inserted the title sequence, here are some of the examples.