Evaluation

Sarah G (7120) -- Sophie P (7246) -- Vicky B (7198)

Filming Evaluation

Now that we have finished our opening sequence we need to film our eveluation of it. Each member of the group wrote down their own notes on each of the questions. We sat together and had a group discussion on who would say which parts about each question. After this we took a camera and tripod and filmed our evaluation. We then uploaded it all onto imovie and then editied out the bits that we didnt need. We foudn that overall we were quite happy with the outcome of our opening sequence.

Final Opening Sequence

Final editing

This lesson is the final lesson that we could have to edit. we made sure that all the clips were in the correct position and played correctly. We took out any unneseacary clips that we had as they made the film much more drawn out as this opening needs to create tension. we went through all the feedback sheets from the showcase to make sure that we had taken everything that we said to us on board. We made sure the sound went with the clips and that overall the opening sequence had the correct mood and atmosphere. We are relieved that we have finally finished our opening sequence.

Sound editing

After we had finished editing all the clips we had, we were told that we would need to add our sound. After watching our sequence in the showcase we realised that we wanted to put in a sound of a heartbeat before the girl is run over and also we needed to find a good sound of a can running over a girl. Using a youtube converter we found appropriate sounds for both of these and added them to the sequence in the correct place. The main thing that we thought would be a good idea to have was to have the girl who gets run over listening to a happy song on her ipod this would then make her being run over much more unexpected. Sophie found an appropriate melody and added it to our final sequence. After the girl gets run over, there is a camera shot where the camera is looking down on the girl. We wanted there to be silent and soft music hear or no music at all as this is the shocking scene where it is revealled that the girl has been hit down by the car. We finished the sounds on our final sequence and made sure that all the music we had added was in the correct position to go with the clips.

Production company

Our group sat down and disscussed what name and logo we should give our production company.

We discussed all four choices of name for our production comany and finally settledon Snapshot productions. Luke then designed the logo that would appear at the start of our opening sequence.

Individual response to whole idea

I think our original idea is good and will help us in improving our camera skills. We will all have some input into making the film which is good. Our Storyboards are good but could do with some improvement with more detail. Doing this will help us keep to a more structured plan. I am happy with our idea and feel that it will be good opening that will hopefully make people want to see the rest of the film if they could.

Production booklet

Horror still image

Editing

We looked at the clips that we had edited so far and worked out what things that we could improve. We used many fades as it worked really well with our theme and the story. The different things that we could use on imovie really helped us with our editing and creating the right amount of effects. We found using imovie a great learning experience. All the effects were new and constantly improving our tecnical skills. We finalised our sequence and made sure everything including audio was perfect

Editing

We loaded up our brand new footage that we had onto imovie. The one member of our group that new how to use imovie had left us so we had to learn how to use it. We edited the footage and arranged it with the music and made sure that we had improved on everything that was said in the showcase. We have realised how much the showcase has helped with our improvement. On imovie we learnt how to use such effect such as fade in and fade out and how to adjust the brightness. This editing lesson has been the best editing lesson so far.

A BIG PROBLEM

At the end of the showcase we found out that a member of our group is going away for the final week that we have left to complete everything. Our group did panic and we decided to make do with what we had. We needed to re film a part of the film so that we could build up a part of the girl. We decided to do this so that when the audience see the girl getting run over they have a connection witht he character and immediatly react. We  felt that this was one of the main problems that we discoverd in the showcase. Sophie and Vicky took the camera to Vicky's house and filmed the new parts that they needed to film.

Show case feedback

Good points

• Good and clear lighting
• Good climax at the end
• Good and clever credits used on props

Points of improvement

• Music didn't go properly
• Too many straight cuts
• Some pointless shots
• Couldnt see girl in window at end
• unclear storyline at points
• Timing of fast cuts is unusual
• Bad Title
• Build up girls character

The showcase helped us to really see what we needed to focus on. We have understood our areas of weakness and now know what we need to work on improoving. The class gave us great feedback and we have taken all of their points into consideration. We wish that we could have had the opportunity to showcase the sequences earlier as now there is not that much time to adjust the footage.

Rough video for showcase

By the time this lesson came around we were unsure about the music and the way that we chose to edit the whole sequence.

Editing

We wanted to get our clips in a rough order so the opening sequence was good enough to show in the showcase.  We worked hard on editing the clips and making sure you could hear any dialougue. Luke took control of the computer and got to work on editing our sequence.

Editing

We began to edit the footage that we had. We knew that we wanted there to be music int he background so me and sophie allocated ourself in charge of music and Vicky and Luke loaded the footage onto imovie and started putting the clips in the correct order. We used imovie because none of the other computers were available. This gave us a disadvantage. Me and Sophie began by opening up the editing software Garage Band. We worked on the music that would connect the girl to the man driving the car.

Personal group discussion on planning and filming

We had a group meeting and discussed when we would film and start realising our ideas. We wanted everyone to use their strengths so the film would come out the best that it could. I feel that we have a good storyboard and structured plan to stick too and if we do stick to it then the film would come out the best that it could.

Group storyboard

Group discussion about storyboard

We looked at our research and discussed about what genre of film we thought would be the best option for our opening sequence and what storyline did we want to choose. We liked a couple of our ideas so instead of choosing one of the storyboards that we had already chosen we decided to come up with a brand new storyboard full of a few of our idea put together. We combined some of my storyline along with sophie's ideas of camera angles and created a new storyboard.

Initial idea for film :
Name of film: Hit and Run
Genre: Thriller
Audience: Adults under 40
Story: A girl is on her way when she steps out in front a car without looking. She is hit by a man and the man drives home in a fluster. He tries to act normal and pretend that it hasnt affected things. He gets home and relaxes but he is not alone.

Research for possible film genres

HORROR !

We researched into the horror genre and looked at images that would be typically in this type of genre.




We realised once we had looked into this type of genre that it would be a good genre to choose because we could use a wide range of media skills.

ROMANCE !




After lookign into the romantic genre we decided that it has a narrow range and can make the film a bit predictable.

COMEDY !




We have found from the research into comedy that films can only work as a comedy if the timing is precise and in the correct place.


WESTERN !




We  realise from the research that a western would be unrealistic and extreamly difficult to film.

Preliminary sequence task

Our preliminary sequence was a brilliant and effective way to practise using the camera before we used it to film our opening sequence. This activity allowed us to experiment with the camera to get different moods and atmosphere. We found that certain camera angles made the things that the actors were saying much more interesting and convincing. To film the sequence we needed to find a quite location in the school with good natural lighting and somewhere that we wouldnt get interupted at any point. We took the camera and tripod and found a quiet classroom. We had a few practise ones where we could experiment and test our angles out. We found new ways of using the camera to our advantage. The camera stayed steady throughout and the outcome was great. We found this task a challenge as it was a new experience however we learnt skills that we knew we would need for future filming.

Personal idea for film

In my group we all came up with our own storyboard of what we thought would be a good idea for a film opening. I planned to have the story of a man who runs over a little girl. He returns home thinking he can get away with it but then he is not alone. The little girls spirit that he ran over is in his house. The girl stalks him until it drives the man to suicide. This idea was used in the final idea and storyline.

Mise en scene:

•High key lighting

•Red waistcoat draws main focus to baby who picks nose

•Woman in background wearing old fashioned clothes and fussing over baby

•Upper class people shown with there clothing

•Baby pictured on the left side of the screen

•Chaise longe pictured center of medium shot

   

 •High key lighting with two spot lights

                              •Photoshoot, basic background so the main focus is on the characters

                              •Three little cute ballarinas centered with two women each side of screen

                              •Old fashioned clothing, all three children are in the same clothing

                              •Fussing over children preparing them for photos

  Mise en scene:

                             •Photo shoot white background instead of dark to create a heavenly atmosphere

                             •High key white lighting

                             •Mother and baby picture center of medium shot

                             •Mother is dressed in white and baby is nude to show purity and innocence

                             •Mother comforts baby for photo

 Mise en scene:

 •Cat in center of medium shot with woman on right of the screen.

 • The setting is a photo shoot with  a table centered with a tweed chair on top of it.

 • The woman is portrayed as a typical cat lover constantly stroking and comforting her cat, also she checks to see if the cat looks good rather than worrying about herself.   

 • The woman is extremely happy always smiling.

 • High-key lighting. 

Mise en scene:

•Medium shot with man centered

•High key lighting with one strobe light for the flash of the camera

•Wearing a red fez and drawn on moustache to look like Tommy Cooper

•Holding a plastic bag

•Dressed smartly

•Waves his hand vigarously to show anger

                               Mise en scene:

•Mise en scene :

•Raunchy women to the right of a medium shot

•Two of the women are wearing black and 1 woman is wearing blue to draw attention to that specific woman who is probably the main focus.

•High key lighting

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Mise-en-scene:

•Setting – photo shoot for the dog. Main colour is red, keeping the focus on the dog.

•Costume and make up – not modern, old fashioned.

•Movement – fast pace.

•Lighting – high key.

•Frame – centered on dog, making it the main focus. Medium shot.

Stereotype – typical dog lover, shown by her being obsessive over her dogs appearance and her wearing a jumper with dogs on the front of it. 

                             

•Mise en scene:

•High key lighting.

•Family centered of medium shot.

•Characters focus on the photographer and the audience focus on the family.

Mise en scene:

•High key lighting.

•Man on chair in center of medium shot.

•Smartly dressed, dull colours used.

•Conversation happening over the photographers shoulder about marriage.

Mise en scene:

•High key lighting

•Smartly dressed characters to portray them to look upper class.

•Dull colours used maybe reflecting their personalities.

•Only speech from the photographer.

•Mixed emotions showed by their facial expressions. Some happy some look bored which is particularly shown by the man who looks at his watch.

•Characters centered within the frame.

•Medium shot.

Mise en scene:

•High key lighting from the side.

•Is wearing classic boxing outfit with the red boxing gloves, red representing danger and blood.

•His movements are energetic and shows high adrenalin.

•Medium/long shot with man centered in the frame.

Mise en scene:

•high key lighting

•Woman is spread across a table posing for the camera in a provocative way.

•Medium shot, centered.

•Plant showing in the background for decoration.

•Her clothing is lingerie creating her to look sexy.

Mise en scene:

•High key lighting

•Prop used is a chair in which she leans on.

•She is wearing a traditional nurses outfit including the hat to show she is an important person.

•She has very blank facial expressions coming across as boring.

•Medium shot with woman slightly of center.

Filming Day 3

This was our second attempt at filming up by Epping forest. We made sure that we were much more prepared and that the person who couldnt make it last time was able to make it this time. We managed to film our opening shots and the day of filming flowed and we got everything that we needed to film done. The shots looked good and i could finally see our opening coming together.

Filming Day 2

For our second day of filming we went on the 11th of Feburary to a member of my groups home to film the sequence when the person arrives home after running over the little girl. We were organised and brought all our equipment and everything we needed. The sequence worked well and we had a few test runs to check everything was in the right place. A member of my group printed of a few of our credits and put them on things to film. This worked well because they were neatly typed out and everything looked well prepared. We used torches in places to make sure the lighting looked right and we were able to see all the characters that we needed to see. The lighting was the main job I was given. Everyone worked well and we got a lot of work done.

Filming Day 1

Our first filming session was on the 7th of February and involved us going up to epping forest to film. One of the people that we needed to film didn't turn up but instead of going home we used our time wisely and filmed all the parts that we could film. We tried to use a range of angles to make our opening much more interesting.

Opening sequences

Grease 



This film opening introduces all the characters and the credits say which actors play the parts. It is in cartoon so it grabs the audiences attention. The music playing is happy and lively and sets the tone and mood for the rest of the film. the cartoons in the opening have stereo typical features of as person from that particular era. The soundtrack relates to the name of the film. The american theme running through the film is immediatly introduced with a vioce over. The bright colour of the cartoon also sets mood and the happiness of the opening translates onto the audience. The pace is fast and the cuts are short.

Seven



The big celebrity names are introduced in a childlike handwriting to give the opening a creepy mood. Dull colors are used to draw attention to the credit and make sure that they are the main focus of the audiences attention. The pace starts of slow and then speeds up as the cuts get faster. The opening is full of loads of close up shots and unusual things that confused the audience and doesn't set a particular theme for the audience to follow. The opening confuses the audiences and brings up lots of questions but they are intrigued to watch the rest of the film and answer there questions.

Spider man






The opening of spiderman starts out immediately with a fast pace of lots of comics shown. This sets the mood and tone for the rest of the film and the fast pace lives up to the action genre and its previous reputation. The main colour is red, this is the brightest colour in the spectrum and is extremely eye catching. The accompaniment is fast and adventurous and suits the genre of the film. The person who would go and see this film is more than likely to have seen the first one of these films so knows what to expect but for the amount that havent seen it the opening sets up the back story really well.

This is england






This is one of the most famous and well known film openings. The film opening is full of certain significant events that have happened in history. The audience have seen all the significant events before so they can relate to them. The accompaniment sets the era and has a fast bouncy pace to it. Some grousome and shocking images are shown so that the audience ask questions and are curious and want to watch the rest of the film. The colour and pace fits the accompaniment perfectly.

Children of Men essay

"How effectively does the opening sequence from 'Children of Men' (2006) use the forms and conventions of film openings? What is your personal response as a member of the audience?"

A child of men was released on 22^nd September 2006. It is directed by Alfonso Cuarón and stars Julianne Moore and Clive Owen. We watched the opening sequence of the film. The opening sequence of children of men is dramatic and engages the audience immediately and makes them want to watch more.

The opening sequence in the film is shocking the sequence leaves the audience with unanswered questions and wanting to watch more. This is known as enigma and is a good technique to be used in opening sequences. It doesn’t give the audience too much information on the story and only gives out basic ideas and little introduction to characters.

The opening sequence starts with a voice over of new alerts. This immediately sets a serious tone for the film and a sense of urgency. On the screen there are the credits, these are not paid attention two because the audiences focus is on the voice over playing in the background. The first shot shown is a medium shot of a crowded cafe. All the people in the cafe are watching the television this builds the seriousness of the film. They are all focusing on the news story being played on the television which is showing its main story “death of Diego Ricardo, the youngest person on the planet, 18 years old”. This immediately makes the audience wonder why he was the youngest person on the planet and why there wasn’t anyone younger than him. None of the characters are immediately introduced. The crowd in the cafe are static so that the focus is still on the voice over even though there is a picture on the screen. All the people in the cafe are wearing dull colours and office clothes so that the audience doesn’t focus on them. A character is established when one man moves through the crowd to the front of the cafe. The man stands out because he is the only one moving at that point. As he leaves the cafe we can see his importance as the camera follows him out onto the street outside.

When the camera reaches the outside of the cafe the audience immediately establish where they are. A caption comes up in the bottom right corner of the screen saying “London, 16^th November 2027” This establishes the date and the setting.  The camera pans across and shows what London looks like. Everything seems dull and has no bright colours or anything exciting to look at. There is a lot of traffic going by and the setting seems to be much polluted. Diagetic sound is used here from the cars to emphasise how busy it really is. None of the people in the background seem to show much emotion and the world appears to be quite down and depressed and this is emphasised when the character the audience is focusing on puts alcohol into his drink.

There is then an arc where in the background a bus goes past him with a moving advert image on the side of it. This shows how technology has moved on and how advanced the world has become. The audience then have a massive shock of the explosion and the camera moves in towards the smoke. The camera tilts as if from a person’s point of view.

The genre of horror is introduced towards the end of the opening sequence as a woman holding her own arm is shown coming from the smoke. Such a dramatic opening can give the idea that the genre of the film could be a thriller.

There is then the title of the film shown in big bold capital letters so it shows its importance. The title has been put in black and white to make it more striking and the complete focus is on the words and not of the picture itself.

In conclusion, Alfonso cuaron has used effective devices for the opening of his film. He has used enigma to make the audience want to watch more and I think that he has given the audience the right amount of information to complete his film opening.

By Sarah Groves