MAIN POST 6: history of your chosen genre

As I am going to create an opening sequence for a drama I decided to research into the background of the drama genre and understand types of films that have been created throughout the film period.

In the 1950s, the arrival of stage actors like Marlon Brando, trained in more naturalistic techniques, and therefore slowly changed drama to a more realistic tenor. A Streetcar Named Desire is considered a pivotal film in this development. The 1960s brought politically driven dramas focusing on war, such as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Flashback (1969) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Sports dramas became inspiration such as The Hustler (1961) and Downhill Racer (1969).During the 1970s, modern dramatic directors made some of their first films. Francis Ford Coppola directed The Godfather (1972). Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver (1976), Mean Streets (1973), and musical drama New York, New York (1977). Sylvester Stallone created one of the most successful sports drama franchises with Rocky (1976) and also directed the sequel Rocky II (1979) In the 1980s; dramatic film put emphasis on highly emotional themes. Do the Right Thing (1989), Spike Lee's debut film, and The Color Purple (1985) were full character studies of African American culture and history. War dramas again played a big part as Platoon (1986) showed the horrors of Vietnam.

Looking through these films I can see that since the 1950s the ideas and conventions of drama have changed and also certain aspects in the time period can influence the films story line and how it affects people. In the 1950s I understand that the story lines didn’t show some of the conventions that a drama in the 21st century would have such as it wouldn’t relate to the audience as films now days would. In the 60s most of the dramas related to war as during this period it was 15 years after the ending of World War 2 therefore they had probably rehabilitated and therefore felt ready to relive that period knowing that it would relate to peoples experiences.

After this period sport drama became popular Sylvester Stallone was one of the best film directors in this period after creating the hit, Rocky which he was inspired by the Muhammad Ali–Chuck Wepner fight, then later on carried on his ambition of film making with the sequel Rocky II and Rambo. 

The 1980s was the period when the 'high concept' films were introduced. The movies were supposed to be easily marketable and understandable, and, therefore, they had short cinematic plots that could be summarized in one or two sentences. The modern Hollywood blockbuster is the most popular film format from the 1980s. Producer Don Simpson is usually credited with the creation of the high-concept picture of the modern Hollywood blockbuster.

MAIN POST 5: title timeline

I looked at my genre;Drama and saw what types of films were created under this genre then I decided to look at the Shwshank Redemtion opening in greater detail as I liked the opening sequence to this, I then created this timeline.

MAIN POST 4: group meeting

As a group we all discussed what genre we should choose, here is a copy of the minutes that our group created-

“Behind Blue Eyes” minutes discussed by Charley Daugherty, Bobbi Rhodes, Katie-Mai Taylor and Alex Mullins written by Charley Daugherty

    

This was our group’s first meeting discussing the genre, story-line and characters.

Charley-hey guys has anyone got any ideas about the opening sequence?

Alex-I don’t know what genre should we do?
Bobbi-Well what would people want to see more of?
Katie-looking at our questionnaire results drama seems to be wanted a lot more.

Bobbi-That’s a good idea! I think drama usually involves problems because we have to make sure it relates to real life situations.

Alex-well what sort of situations could we do?
Charley-what about a relationship between two teenagers?
Alex-Yes we could do them splitting up.
Katie-We could but it might be a little bit boring, what about an abusive relationship?
Bobbi-That would be quite hard to act out and we would have to be careful with the conventions that we use.

Charley-Well if we look at a few dramas and also the short films that we have been watching in class I’m sure there are certain conventions that we could achieve.
Katie-We could also involve editing to make it seem a lot more dramatic.
Alex-If we can do it I think it’s a good idea.
Katie-Ok so where are we going to film it.
Alex- Either at someone’s house or maybe at school?
Charley-I think the school because then we can do some work during our frees.
Bobbi-that’s a good idea I also like the idea of maybe a flash black rather than her actually being there now.
Katie-or we could just use the sound rather than the acting because from our preliminary task I think the acting let us down.
Alex-Then it will show our editing skills.
Charley-Everyone happy with this idea?
Katie-yes
Bobbi-yes
Alex-yes

MAIN POST 3A: further looking at openign sequences

I there are many opening sequences that all fit different genres, I looked at a few of them from this link http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=opening+scene&aq=f&gl=US&hl=uk 

The first opening sequence that I looked at was ‘Breakfast at tiffany’s’
I thought this opening sequence was good as at the start it had an establishing shot, which our questionnaires also found out that our audience also liked this showing that Hollywood films also use these starts. I also liked the way that at the start of the opening sequence the taxi came into the shot then at the end of the opening sequence the women walks out of the shot, I like this idea.
The Mis-En-Scene also works well together as she is dressed in expensive clothes then also looks at a ‘tiffany’s shop’ although she gets out of a typical American taxi which could make the viewer’s question her overall status. The music goes well with the scene also as its slow.
They don’t use a variety of shots which I think they should of as there is a shot of the women eating for 20seconds,I would do different shots within this section such as a close-up on what she’s eating.
The text also takes up most of the shots making it hard to see the action behind it.
Although as a whole I think it is a good opening sequence.

The second opening that I watched was from ‘courageous’
I enjoyed this opening sequence as there were lots of different shots in a sequence showing the man’s actions.
I think the camera work in the sequence is strong as the also focus the camera to show dirt on the car and use point of view shots.
Although I think there should have been music such as in the action sequence I think there should have been fast music to show action.
The Mis-En-scene was also good as it showed that it was set in America as the cars were American cars and also it showed what type of city it was by the car being nicked.

MAIN POST 3: research into opening sequence designs

I choose to watch the Kyle Cooper interview so I could get ideas for my opening sequence. I found the Kyle Cooper very intriguing. By watching these interviews it showed me and taught me the importance of an opening sequence and also how much planning and thought goes into a creation of one, it showed us that there is an large industry of just the production of opening sequences.
           The title sequences that we watched in both ‘Superman’ and ‘Seven’ were very good and well planned although the sequences did use a lot of CGI (Computer Graphic Images) and therefore managed to create more effects than we would be able to due to limited resources and also we don’t have the software.
          Through watching this it showed us that being adventurous usually makes the best style of an opening sequence if you can pull it off as the opening sequence shows what the film is going to be like and those minutes are what keep the viewers’ attention. Although we can’t use CGI we can still use a lot of editing skills such as fades to create a certain atmosphere, by watching this interview it has been very helpful and also given me idea to use in my opening sequence.   

MAIN POST 2: choosing your genre

Task 1

I carried out research to find out what genres were popular,theese answers will influence the choice of the genre that my opening sequence will be.

Recapping 2009: Most Popular Movie Genre

Although this is 2009 this data is close enough to this present date and therefore seems reliable.From this data I can see that comedy is very popular with 22% of the ratings.http://ddunlop.com/2010/01/recapping-2009-most-popular-movie-genre/

Task 2
From this information I understand that black comedy,musicals and performances arent popular at all.I dont think this would be a good choice to use for our genre as they are not liked nor popular.

Also comedy is seen to be popular, therefore I think that there isnt a gap in the market for this genre.Then we saw that drama was 15% although it isnt much it shows that it is reasonably popular and also shows that there could be a gap in this market.I also have seen that thriller is 10% although this may have a gap with our limited resources i dont think we would be able to meet the conventions of thriller.This has influenced my prefered choce of genre as I dont want to do an unpopular film.

Task 3
After doing the secondary research we done primary research this is what our questionaire looked like.
We asked 20 people so therefore we knew it would be reliable.

This is our questionaire-

We created 20 questionaires so our results would more accurate compared to asking 10 people.

We learnt alot from this questionaire such as Drama is the most popular genre that attracts the audience and thee age group ranged from 19-24.

They also like the way that the drama is very realistic and that they can somewhat relate to it.

Amoungest the adience they overall decided that within the drama genre there would be very dramatic scenes but also realistic. Over half of the people we asked all decided that to make a good opening sequence it should introduce the characters and also set a location so they understand the basis of the story-line.

This would help us as when we are making the opening sequence we should take this into consideration.

Task 4

In our group we each asked 5 people that range from different ages so our results would differ.

Task 5

We discussed our findings in our group and all took notes and aslo created a tally chart of our answers so the information would be easier to read.

Task 6

Evaluation of questionnaire.

From our questionnaire we found out many things such as, Drama is the most popular genre between 18-20 year olds along with Action which was second popular. Sci-Fi was least popular with only one like.

Everyone that said they liked drama explained that they like it to be very dramatics and also the sound track would relate to the mood of the character.

They also like tension in a drama.

In an opening everybody said that it should introduce that characters that will be in it also shows the location and finally sets the tone of the film. This information was very important as we know what to include in our opening sequence.

Also it shows that more people would want to see drama.

This information shows us that drama is very popular between the people that we asked and also between the group we all have watched many drama before.



MAIN POST 1: convetions of a opening sequence

Types of conventions from different genres

I am looking at different types of openings in different genres so I can see what type of opening my short film will have and what conventions it will need to fit my genre.

Crank

Looking at Crank which is a action/crime genre I have seen that in the opening sequence there is backing music which is rock this type of music sets the mood as if it was slow music you would expect it to be a carm atmosphere where as by using rock music the atmosphere is lively. When the credits come up they dissolve into the next camera shot, I like this idea as it looks very clever and also it links the two different shots together. There is also flashing colours with the title 'Crank' along side the rock music which yet again sets a very lively scene but then it cuts to silence making the audeience feel weiry of what is going to happen next.It keeps the viewers intised as it isnt the same level of music or the same shots throught.I like this idea as it shows many skills,I will look into this when i start to look at my own opening sequence.
Afterward the different shots of the title 'Crank' there is a repetitive ringing noise whilst it focus' on one character and then edits to a point of view shot(P.O.V) I like this idea as it helps the viewer understand the character before the film starts,I understand that a convention of a opening sequence is to introduce the character and by showing the shot of the character then switching to the P.O.V shot this meets the convention.The lighting is also dark which creates weiryness also along with the music being very loud then cutting to silence.All of the conventions meet each other creating a postive opening sequence.

Legally Blonde
For my second opening sequence I looked at Legally Blonde, I understand that it is a comedy which is a very different genre toward Crank.I had choosen to look at a different genre to Crank as I want to see if the conventions of a typical opening sequence still applies in to seperate genres.  
Legally Blonde has a lighter atmosphere towards it as the music is lighter and also fits under the pop genre it is cheerier and also the lighting is very bright whichalso matches the music.Both of theese make the openign sequence seem very happy making a postive start to the film. Although the music is very different and the lighting is different the camera angles are similar.Legally Blonde and Crank both use P.O.V and also it pans.From seeing this I understand that in my opening sequence it doesnt matter what my genre will be as I wont be restricted to certain types of camera angles. The lighting is also lighter which sets a happier atmosphere. You also have shots of certain objects which also set the scene and also gives information about the character without any dialogue which I think is a good idea.

The text also fades.  

post 12: evidence of targets

To have a plan and stick to it to make sure there is plenty of time for filming or to solve problems.

I used this website to help me although not all of it relates to school work there are certain parts thta do. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/12/10/10-tips-for-time-management-in-a-multitasking-world/

• Make sure the script has more detail.

I used this website to give me ideas for my script and how i can change it so it isnt boring or basic but is intense as it will help my next task.
http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/contents.htm

Find a location that isnt crowded

To do this we plan to look at numerous locations when we decided what we aim to project.

post 11: targets

My targets that I aim to acheive are-

• To have a plan and stick to it to make sure there is plenty of time for filming or to solve problems.
• Make sure the script has more detail.
• Find a location that isnt crowded

post 10: evaluation of skills devoloped

Although I had done GCSE media and already knew about location recces and types of shots the preliminarily task helped me develop skills such as working with new people that I didn’t originally know, this helped me as we had different ideas and therefore could combine them to make a strong idea. During the pre-production we had to learn to communicate and let everybody have a say as it was group work thankfully we didn’t find this a challenge as we welcomed everyone’s ideas. We had to become creative and come up with ideas that we thought no other group would do this was a lot harder than we thought but eventually we put all our ideas together and came up with an idea that the other groups didn’t have. I also learnt all the risks into filming the continuity task by doing the risk assessment as we had to make sure we evaluated everything so there was no risk of one of us or the equipment coming to harm although I already had an understanding of this I learnt more.    

During the filming we had to learn to come up with new ideas as we were filming, such as the library wasn’t free when we planned to use it so we had to work as a group to postpone it until after school. This was a new skill that I had learnt as before we were told what to do but now we had to talk amongst us and plan ourselves.    

After the filming we had to do the post production we had to use the editing suit although we followed the instruction and also had previous acknowledgment of the function of the editing suit we found some problems such as we couldn’t find the right camera to use to upload the video although this was a problem we all worked together and overcame it. I learnt how to edit the filmed action together and also how to label each rush and take note of the in code and out code. We also learnt all the different types of editing techniques such as fading and also how to add credits.

By watching the preliminary task back I understand that we didn’t follow exactly to the script as we didn’t have enough time to say all the lines also another prospect that we could improve would be to use different shot sizes next to each other as there are 3 close ups edited together.     

  

 

post 9:post production report

To begin we booked the editing suit. When we had the room available we connected our camera to the editing suit computer and captured out filming. We then created a table that we put the information of our logging rushes into with this we noted the scene, shot, take, description and if we were going to proceed with using it or not.

After doing this we could now begin to edit. To cut the clips that we decided we didn’t want we used the erasure tool. The rushes that we wanted we cut and put onto our time line in a chronological order we carried this until we had a draft of our film.   

In Code	Out Code	Scene	Shot	Take	Description	Yes/No
00:00:03:11	00:00:12:06	1	1	1	Charley walking into the liabary	Yes
00:00:12:10	00:00:18:22	1	2	1	Charley is in the liabary walking towards the table	Yes
00:00:19:04	00:00:22:05	1	3	1	Bobbi calls charley over	Yes
00:00:25:06	00:00:30:02	1	4	2	Bobbi calls charley over	No
00:00:22:11	00:00:27:02	1	5	1	Charleys walks towards the table	Yes
00:00:27:13	00:00:30:14	1	6	1	Charley sits at the table and starts talking	Yes
00:00:30:14	00:00:34:04	1	7	1	Bobbi leaves	Yes
00:01:12:06	00:01:40:06	2	1	1	Charley and katie talk	No
00:00:34:06	00:01:00:06	2	1	2	Charley and katie talk	Yes
00:01:00:06	00:01:04:07	2	2	1	Charley begs for forgivness	Yes
00:01:04:04	00:01:05:22	2	3	1	Charley runs out	Yes
00:01:06:04	00:01:10:01	2	4	1	Slams the door	Yes

After doing this we played the draft and watched closely to see if there were any issues such as the volume or jump cuts. We did find problems so we had to edit it out such as there was a long pause before dialogue began so we cut it out so the clip flowered. After repeating this and looking at the clips again we decide to look at the continuity as this was our task, we watched it and realized that I was in the wrong place in one of the shots so we had to edit this out although we couldn’t remove it fully. Also during our filming the camera had jolted that we didn’t realise until editing unfortunately we weren’t able to correct as there was time issues. 

As a group we decided we didn’t want music as we think it would ruin the atmosphere as we couldn’t find a sad piece of music that would suit the actions. We add a cross fade effect at the beginning and end of our footage. After this we created a title at the beginning and then a role of credits at the end. We kept the title and credits simple with black and white.   

      

Post 8: pre-production report

The first time that our group tried to film we weren’t able to as the library had a class in and there would be too much nice so we had to re-arrange a date which was Tuesday 11th.

The problems with filming were there was a meeting in the library and the camera picked up their voices so we had to ask them to move further away.



Overall the filming went very well; we got all the shots on that day. We had to take a few shots of the extreme close up on me and also walking over to Bobbi but other than this we manage to do it in one take. Whilst filming we had a countdown off three so we had time to get into character but also then whilst editing we had time on each side of the clip to edit. We didn’t have to use our fingers count down as we were all in the same room except when I was outside Bobbi used her fingers.



One of the reasons why the filming went well was because we were all organized and was prepared to film if this wasn’t the case I think it would of taken longer. We took our time making sure that we got appropriate shots and that we were going along with the storyboard so we wouldn’t have to re-shoot any scenes. We also worked well as a group we communicated well and if someone didn’t understand something or didn’t like a certain thing we would discuss it.



The footage we shoot I personally think was good although there could have been changes such as the camera moved so the scene jumped and unfortunately we didn’t notice this until the end. Also the shot where i run out should have been re-shot as there was a jump cut that we didn’t want. There is nothing we need to do during editing to create a better shot although we need to be careful about the way we edit it together as we don’t want jump cuts.

I think we achieved the rule of community as from going over our shots we cannot spot anything but we will look during editing.

Post 7: additional pre-production

Location reece

Power- there are many plug sockets around so we can use them for extra lighting.  

Lighting-there are many windows where natural lighting can come in so we don’t think we will need  extra lighting.

Sound-the liabary is a very popular place so we plan to do it after school where it should be reasonably empty.

Theese are images of a few risks that we need to be aware of.

Risk assesment

Whilst walking in the door there is a mat we may trip over it	Make sure the mat is securely on the floor
The table leg you may trip over	Make sure you stay away from the table and are aware where it is
The chair leg you may trip over	Make sure you stay away from the chair and are aware where it is
The photocopier is by the door and may catch a piece of clothing on it	Stay away from it.
We may knock over the tri-pod	Watch where it is and keep away from it
The doors may open and hit some one	Make sure no one is near the doors whilst opening.
We may trip over the wires	Make sure wires are securely on the floor

 

Shooting Schedule

Day	Period	Start Time	Scene	Shot
Tuesday 11th October 2011	After school	3:15	1 and 2	All shots completed

Mis-En-Scene Description

Set design/location

For our preliminary task we have be set the continuity task. We have decided to set it in the library at our school. We have chosen the library as it is very realistic as we have chosen to do our short clip about 3 teenagers that attend 6^th form. Therefore the library achieves the idea of it looking like a school. We will not need to change any of the mis-en-scene as we will be surrounded by books. The library is very large and there is enough room for filming. There also are desks in the library which we aim to be using along with the chairs.       

Lighting

The library has natural light, there are numerous small windows around the library that regularly give light and also a door that will give us natural lighting from the corridor. There is also artificial lighting from numerous lights on the ceiling that we plan to use if the natural light isn’t bright enough.

    

Character movement

At the beginning of the filming, CHARLEY will be standing outside the corridor holding a letter; she will then walk into the library. BOBBI will see charley and calls her over then BOBBI will leave KATIE-MAI and CHARLEY remain at the table and argue. CHARLEY then runs out and slams the door, when then will cut to credits.

We have chosen this movement as it is very realistic to what teenage girls would do and how they would behave.

Props

During our filming we will use a letter, a desk with books, paper and pens on, three chairs place around the table for each girl. These props all help us create the feeling of three girls studying in a library 

Hair and make-up

BOBBI: Hair: Tied up      Make-up: N/A

KATIE-MAI: Hair: straightened down     Make-up: natural

CHARLEY:  Hair: Tied up     Make-up: a lot of make up

We choose this make up as it represents ourselves. Also we wanted Charley to be the stereo-type of a ‘chav’.




Cast and Crew Costume and Props list.


Costume and props-
All actors will have there nowmal clothes apart from Charley who will wear large earings.
We will use- 3 chairs, a desk, work on the table and stationary. All of theese are already in our location.
Cast and crew-
CHARLEY-filming and acting
BOBBI-filming and acting
KATIE-MAI- filming and acting

Costume-

Here is our original idea for BOBBI'S character TAYLOR we didn't want her to stand out too much so we made her a tomboy in comparison to ALICE'S 'girly' image and CHANTELLE'S 'chav' stereotype, there was no make-up needed for this character and overall the character's image worked well when filming.

Here is our original idea of my character ALICE we wanted her to look sweet and fun and natural in comparison to CHARLEY'S character CHANTELLE I believe this did work as there was an obvious contrast between characters and the outfit worked well with the character.

Here is our general idea of what we wanted CHARLEYS costume to look like when she was playing CHANTELLE we tried to keep it in the stereotype of a 'chav' and with her make-up we believe we did create a realistic look for her character