Practise shots

Overview of shots 
Mesmorised girl- to show the computer screen and the facial expressions of the actors is hard so we used reflection to show the expression but included the side of the characters head in the shot.

The shots were achieved by considering the lighting, camera positioning, background and what was going on in FRONT of the camera all depending on the scenarios.

For our assignment it would be useful to use some of the techniques that we learnt and used for each shot.

Synopsis.

Melody Davidson (Aishah Kibria) is a 15 year old girl who has recently been getting into alot of arguments with her mother. One evening Melody's close friend drops her home but refuses to come in. Melody's mother becomes angry and tells Melody that she cannot hang out with hre friends as she does not approve of them. Melody becomes overly depressed with the constant arguments and attempts to commit suicide by taking an over dose of tranquillizers. The suicide fails and Melody ends up in coma. Melody's spirit is trapped on earth, meaning she hasn't died nor is she alive.

Renee DiNozzo (Humaira Chuhan) , Melody's close friend, finds out about what has happened but she also has her own problems. Renee is stuck in an stressful relationship but she doesn't know it is also about to become a dangerous one. She spends her days thinking of the arguments and abuse she'd get from her soon to be ex- boyfriend.

Daniel Kaul (Karuhn Nahar) becomes obsessed and controlling over Renee; the relationship becomes too much for Renee so she decides to break up with him. Although Renee doesn't know that Daniel suffers from mental disorder. Daniel sees no point in Renee being alive if she's not going to be with him, so he comes up with a plan to kill her. As Melody's ghost can not be seen, she follows and finds out everything.

At this time Melody is still in hospital and still in a coma. She suddenly has a quick flash of Daniel picking up a knife and suddenly wakes up.She decides that saving her friends life is more important than anything else so she goes to see Renee and helps her get away from daniel safely. Whether Renee gets away from daniel and survives is left open.

The Submarine: After viewing.

Voiceover and narrative
Submarine makes very extensive use of voiceover. The use of voiceover in films is sometimes criticised, as there is a feeling that a film should rely on the visual narrative and the narrative conveyed in the dialogue.


-What effects do you think are achieved by having Oliver speak directly to the audience through voiceover?
It makes the audience to familiar with Oliver's attitude and the way HE sees life from his own point of view and not just a deep voiced man who tells the audience ABOUT Oliver- making the audience want to get to know him (to watch the film).


-Do you think there is a gap between what Oliver says about himself and the reality that we see on the screen? If so, what effect does this create?
As the film is from Oliver's point of view, the audience are told about everything that goes on and how he feels throughout the film. Therefore I don't think there is a gap between what Oliver says and what we see because his thoughts and actions match. 

Richard Ayoade

• Richard Ellef Ayoade.
• Born June 12, 1977 in Whipp's Cross, London, UK.
• Acted in 16 titles.
• Written 11 titles.
• Directed 8 titles and 3 music videos.
• Been part of the film crew.
• Executive producer in 1 title.

-What sort of feeling and impact can music video have and what effect could a music video-style sequence achieve in a film?

Music videos are directed in a way so that the the song lyrics fit into what is shown on screen. So music videos have a big impact on movies, Varying the expressions between each scene and the songs played meanwhile. 


-Can you think of other films which feature extended montage sequences that are quite like music videos?


-The Last Shadow Puppets - 'My mistakes were made for you'
This music video and song would fit into a romance scene. Although it is past tense bits of the song, for example 'About as subtly as an earthquake, I know. My mistakes were made for you' would go with a scene showing a relationship that has fallen apart.

Film Institutions/production companies.

>Paramount Pictures

• American film production and distribution company.
• Founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor-making it America's oldest existing film studio.
• In 2006 Paramount became the parent of Dreamworks SKG.
• The company does not have one particular widely produced/Distributed genre.
• Has distributed 6664 Movie/Animations.
• Has been a production company for 2763 Movie/Animations
• Miscellaneous company of 262 old and upcoming films.
• Revenue (2011) : $1.2 billion
• Operating income : $300 million

>Universal

• American film production company founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle.
• On May 11 2004, the company was sold by vivendi Universal to General Electricity, parent of NBC.
• The company does not have one particular widely produced/Distributed genre.
• Has distributed 138 Movie/Animations.
• Has been a production company for 62 Movie/Animations.
• Miscellaneous company of 72 films.

>Columbia Pictures

• American film production and distribution company.
• Owned by Sony Entertainment Pictures.
• Founded in 1919 by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and Joe Brandt.
• Has Distributed 4455 old and upcoming Movie/Animations.
• Production company for 156 films.
• Miscellaneous company of 145 films. 
• Revenue: $7.3 billion.
• Operating income :$300 million.

>Warner Bros. Pictures

• American producer of film and television entertainment.
• Founded in 1918 by Harry, Jack, Albert and Sam Warner.
• Has distributed 5492 old and upcoming Movie/Animations.
• Production company for 3825 films.
• Miscellaneous company of 143 films.
• Revenue: $11.7 billion.
• Operating income: $845 million.

>PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

• Film studio founded in 1979 as a European competitor to Hollywood.
• But eventually sold and merged with Universal Pictures in 1999.
• The company was based in the UK, and invested heavily in British film making.
• Production company for 82 films.
• Has distributed 68 Movies.
• Miscellaneous company of 5 films. 

The Last House On The Left- Trailer Questionnaire.

My Pitch.

A girl (9-14 year old)  attempts suicide but fails and ends up in coma. She appears on earth as a ghostly spirit; meaning no one can see/hear her but she can see everyone. She begins to wonder into people life and learns about the stories of some peoples lives. There's one that catches her attention (Aishah/Humaira's Story)- but the girl cant do anything as she cant be seen. When the girl finally wakes up, she goes to find the girl but the boyfriend finds out that the girl is trying to warn the girl about his plans so he tries to kill her.
Movie Rating: 15
Trailer Rating: PG
Genre: Thriller.

The Discovery.

27th Homework

Review of survey 
From the results of my questionnaire I found out that the majority of the people who did the questionnaire were aged between 15-16 years. Therefore I can conclude that teenagers are more interested in trailers that include fantasy and has a Thriller genre. But this could be a bias result as I only nearly asked people within that age group to watch that trailer and complete the questionnaire.
Another bit of data I managed to collect from the questionnaire was that the amusement of the audience was linked to their understanding of the trailer.
I could improve the questionnaire by putting the questionnaire link on a public website, so that I would not know who did it and they would not know who created it; this would avoid any bias results. Also it would be a better way to have different people within different age groups completing it.

Low key/ High key reflection
Using different lighting levels helps set the scene and make the storyline clearer.
We tested to see how the light level would make a difference in the same picture. We found out that low key lighting sets a more negative mood and high key lighting sets a positive mood. Its also hints to the audience about the genre of the trailer/movie they are watching.

Pan's Labyrinth Questionnaire

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHJVT0xEbWNCMmZ4b1JPVlUzQjNENXc6MA&theme=0AX42CRMsmRFbUy0yMjdiMTQ4Yi0zZjUwLTQ5NTUtOGVmNC05ODNlZTUxYTViYzA&ifq

Angus, thongs and perfect snogging trailer analysis

Editing
-Straight cuts.
-Switches to different locations using fast cuts.
-Scenes cut in rhythm to the background music.
-Scenes that tell important bits of the storyline aren't shortened.
-Special editing effects is used only towards the end for the title of the movie (text sliding/spinning).

Sound
-Mostly diegetic sound is used.
-There is use of a well known song 'Scouting for girls-She's so lovely'.
-There is a voice over but its not the typical 'deep-voiced man' this is because the genre of the film is different.
-A synchronised dialogue is used to help the narrator tell the story.

Titles and written language
-Titling is is still used even though the voice over is saying the same thing e.g. "how to flaunt it".
-The institutions used to make the film are mentioned at the beginning of the trailer. Even though is doesn't stay on the screen for long the viewer can still catch a glimpse of it.
-The titling during the video seem to have there own little seen every time they come on. For example after a specific scene, it changes into a notebook background with a picture of the main character and then the titling coming in using animation.
-The institutions are mentioned again at the end of the film when it says 'coming soon'.

Picture
-There is many use of Long shots to show the location and where the characters are.
-There are also a lot of Close ups of the main character to show her expressions.
-It is made believable that the Movie is targeted for teenagers; we can tell this by the cast used- they aren't a bunch of 20-30 years old playing the roles of 15-18 year old.
-Moments of drama has been used quite a lot as well as moments of comedy. This 2 emotions are what engages the target audience and makes them want to finish watching the trailer.

Trailer Analysis/Notes

Trailers

• 'Ferris Buellers day off'

-Titles are used and repeated
-Funny moments shown
-Movie name shown last
-Clips changed quickly
-Main character talks to camera
-Music fits in with the storyline
-Natural (no special effects/ animation used)
-Shows that Ferris gets his day off but doesn't show what happens
-Institution (20th Century Fox)

• The Breakfast show

-Voice over of the narrative
-Music with no lyrics
-Movie name shown last
-Small bit of credits shown at the end
-Character dialogue used to tell bits of the story

• Pan's Labyrinth

-Voice over of the narrative
-Child humming (hints genre/characters of the film)
-Fantasy
-Based in the historical times ( Spanish Civil war)
-Reviews used to promote
-Small girl as main character
-Small clips from the movie
-No dialogue or sound used from actual movie
-Scenes fade too black before changing

• Juno

-First thing in the trailer talks about pregnancy (giving info about the movie)
-Storyline is obvious throughout trailer
-Audience is shown by the age of main characters
-Music over diagetic sounds
-Titles slide across

• Persepolis

-Animation
-Music over Dialogue
-Target audience is not clear because even though the main character is a child growing up the storyline isnt suitable for under 12's
-Reviews to promote
-Title and credit at the end
-Titles in the middle

• Angus Thongs and perfect snogging

-Music starts from the beginning
-Many locations used
-Movie for teenagers
-Voice Over of narrative
-Comedy scenes (to attract)

• Son of Rambow

-Mostly uses diagetic sound/dialogue from the film
-Music in background to show scene mood
-Multiple genres used
-Comedy moments
-Quick cuts
-'Rambow' mispelt by using 'W' (links to the characters' age range)

iMovie :)

Actors:
Sienna Miller as the wife/ first aider
Joseph Fiennes as the husband/ doctor
Michael Sheen as the spy

Advertised through:
-Billboards
-Trailers
-Merchandise

A couple work for the united nations, as doctor and first aider.
They work in Kabul, Afghanistan, in a help centre for the wounded and emergency.
One day a wounded man comes in, as he is treated by the couple.
They discover  his past and who he really is as they get to know him.
He is a spy who works for Taliban that gets information from the american government (country).
The couple are then contacted by unknown people who work for Taliban, threatening them that they must kill the man (the spy) as soon as possible without the Taliban's getting involved because the spy knows too much about them, or the couple will be killed along with the spy.
They are also contacted by people who work for the american government saying that the couple must kill the spy as he also learnt a lot about the americans, or the couple will be killed.
The couple, knowing that they and the spy will be killed either way, turn to the spy for help; as they are to blame if they don't kill the spy but they have no intention of hurting or killing any one.
The couple tell the spy that both 'sides' are aiming to kill him, and they are giving him the chance to run away and they also what his help as they are now involved.
They decide to help each other out. As trust forms they create a plan. They will tell the current hospital that the patient (the spy) needs to be taken to a bigger and more equipted hospital in the capital city.
As they take off, they notice the same van every few miles. They realise that the black van has been following them ever since they left Kabul.
They try to lose them with changing directions and going through different roads. But they van starts to shoot at them*Turns into a car chase*.
They manage to lose the van when the van crashes into a couple of other cars. *car stunts*
They want to go to north of Afghanistan to enter Tajikstan which is easier to exit the country.
They switch cars so they leave no trace of them and continue their way through the countrysides.
This time they are followed by a blackbird plane which starts to shoot at them.
In order to get out of the blackbird's sight, they change cars.
They continue to go and they hear news that their old car was destroyed by the plane.
When they get to the borderline, they leave the car and walk through the mountains towards the city.
The spy and the couple split up in order to make it harder for the two groups to find them.
The couple call the united nations in order for help. But the person on the phone says "But the two people you claim to be were killed in a car 'accident'"Therefore doesn't believe them.
In Dushanbe, Tajikstan, it is all over the news that a spy has been killed in the city.
When the couple hear this they call the spy, but someone else picks up (a former friend of the spy) telling them that the spy that was killed, was ***** (the spys name). He also tells them that the two groups are still looking for them. The ask the man over the phone for new passports (which they get).
They reveal this whole story to a local newspaper and get out the country as soon as possible.
They fly to australia and no one knows where they are to this day.

Exam notes

• Family friendly
• not too many special effects (CGI)
• Global appeal
• Tv focus on marketing  -Merchandise

Task 1-Codes and Conventions and perhaps representation.
Task 2-Institutions and audiences  -why they are made? -why they are popular and with whom.
Task 3-Ideas for film and synopsis.
Task 4-Storyboard for trailer.

Gladiator

• Main character
• Good personality (character) 
• Fights for himself 
• Others look up to him

We can see that Harry Potter is unstoppable to keep the audience interested because many movies have been made to continue the story of Harry Potter as the character hasn't stopped fighting or/and trying to solve the problems he has. This keeps the audience interested in the character because and also because he is the main character and what the movie is based on, if Harry Potter was stoppable then there would be no more than max 2 movies to keep the audience engaged. Even though Harry isn't physically strong, he manages to get passed his issues with villains in the movie and this makes him unstoppable.

For example in the movie where Voldemort, his enemy, is after him to kill him; he is helped my all his friends to get away from him and manages to kill some of the people who work for Voldemort.

My favourite hero is...

Jake Gyllenhaal !

I chose him because he is gorgeous and he is a great actor as he is able to play in any type genre.

In the movie prince of Persia he plays a hero which is physically strong and is able to fight and travel long distances across difficult terrain.

He is able to save everyone from the villain who is his uncle and he is able to prove to the people that he was innocent and didn't kill the king of Persia; this makes him more heroic.

Iconography and Setting

Iconography can be an object, shape or a costume from a hero or any character that represents them. For example in gladiator the swords and the armour is an icon of the roman gladiators. The weapons used in the mise en scene create tension and engage the audience to everything in the image (expressions, position...). In indiana jones, the costume and some of the props/weapons of the main character are an icon of the indiana jones movie. The gladiator image uses more setting because even though the background is blurry we can see that there is an audience watching the fight and we can make out the fighting pit in the background. The indiana jones setting shows a more outdoor background which relates to its genre; adventure.

Casino Royale trailer..

Men

• ·      Action
• ·      Guns/Weapons
• ·      Cars/Vehicles
• ·      Violence
• ·      Crime
• ·      Money
• ·      Stunts
• ·      Actress

Women

• ·      Love/Romance
• ·      Tension
• ·      Crime
• ·      Actor
• ·      Stunts

Teens

• ·      Violence
• ·      Guns/Weapons
• ·      Music/Sound effects
• ·      Stunts
• ·      Actor/Actress

Adults

• ·      Action
• ·      Stunts
• ·      Actors/Actresses
• ·      Cars/Vehicles

British viewers

• ·      British classic
• ·      Accents
• ·      Cars

American viewers

• ·      Casino
• ·      Cars
•     Set in America
• ·      American actors

The makers intentionally tried to involve the top two groups and alienate the bottom two groups because in order to choose a target audience for the movie hey need to see who the film is more suitable for e.g. Male Adults and teens and who its not suitable for e.g. Female teens.

More money was made in USA for the Bond movie than in UK, this could be because as it is a British film the makers have altered it slightly to fit the American audience more (American actors, filmed in America…)

There would be less females who would pay to watch the Bond franchise because the series have been accused of sexism towards women, this may also affect the amount of the male audience.

Pirates of the Caribbean

1.     Weapons (swords)

2.     Specific actor/actress (Johnny Depp/Orlando Bloom)

3.     Name of the movie

The Fugitive

1.     Facial Expression

2.     Name of the Movie (meaning)

3.     Background (moving vehicle)

Gladiator

1.     Costume/weapon

2.     Background of poster

3.     Slogan

Avatar

1.     Fictional Character

2.     Fictional background

3.     Director

The poster that fits the ‘Action-Adventure’ most is Pirates of the Caribbean because the word ‘Pirates’ shows that there is going to be action involved.

The hardest poster to define as ‘Action-Adventure’ is avatar because the poster shows a more drama based and fantasy story line.

The have more in common because most of the posters have weapons in the image showing action and the backgrounds show a dark and mysterious scenery.

Action adventure should have suitable actors playing the roles for example Adam Sandler in opinion of the audience shouldn’t play the role of a main character in a horror movie as he is well known for his comedy movies. The storyline should be following the action-adventure genre.

Action-adventure films are popular because…

·      Suitable for most audiences

·      Has many hybrids

·      Good actors (most of the time)

·      High concept

·      Good stunts

·      Good effects

Action and adventure films are criticized because…

·      Mediocre storyline

·      Cheesy dialogues

·      Low quality scripts

·      Sexisms

New action adventure movie pitch

Title:  It aint no ordinary job

Age certificate: 12a
Genre:Action-Adventure
Sub-Genre/Hybrid: Comedy 

Plot: A man who works in the army and his wife who works a accountant. The woman gets bored of her average job and wants to join the army, but her husband disagrees but she joins anyway;  but not as woman as male trainee without him knowing but finds out that she is working in the same sector as her husband. 

Non stereo-typical character: The husband who works in the army isn't a good looking (?) 
Movie is based in... America
Main Actors + Actresses: Jake Gyllenhaal as husband + Keira Knightley as Wife.

A/A notes..

Representation
Institution - Action/ adventure films are expensive to make, often command a high production budget
Audience
Media language
Storyline and plot
Structure
Oppositional characters
Journey/ quest
Action sequence
Sub-Genre

Action- Adventure question.

Explain the main features of action/adventure films and provide examples to support your ideas. Refer to at least two action/adventure films.


Mr & Mrs Smith
This is a brilliant action adventure movie with has a hybrid of Rom-Com. There are no hero’s, but the villains turn out to the the companies that try to kill the characters. The actors, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, are very famous and good at what they do and they are chosen to act in the movie because the storyline is a success, meaning the actors used should attract more viewers.  It engages the audience with the type of action, using guns, knives, shooting etc. The institution was Regency Enterprise with a budget of $110,000,000. The storyline changes to what the audience think is going to happen, because there are no clues in the beginning to how the plot is going to changes, this causes excitement in the audience as there is a change in mood.

Action adventure - Comedy

Mr & Mrs Smith

Director:  Doug Liman (also directed The Bourne Identity/Ultimatum,Jumper and more) Writer:  Simon Kinberg Stars:  Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Adam Brody

Production Companies

• Regency Enterprises
• New Regency Pictures
• Summit Entertainment
• Weed Road Pictures
• Epsilon Motion Pictures

Budget

$110,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend

$50,342,878 (USA) (12 June 2005) (3,424 Screens)

Rotten Tomatoes:

Rated 57% on rotten tomatoes and 63% of the audience liked it.

Review by Roger Ebert - Chicago Sun-Times 

"What makes the movie work is that Pitt and Jolie have fun together on the screen, and they're able to find a rhythm that allows them to be understated and amused even during the most alarming developments."

Review by Simon Braund - Empire Magazine

"A full-on action flick, subversive rom-com and weapons-grade star vehicle that's drenched in Tinseltown glitz, from a director who knows how to put the money on the screen while his tongue's firmly in his cheek."

Rush Hour 3

Director: 

Brett Ratner

Writers: 

Jeff Nathanson, Ross LaManna

Stars

:

 Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker and Max von Sydow

Production Companies

• New Line Cinema (presents)
• Roger Birnbaum Productions
• Arthur Sarkissian Productions
• Unlike Film Productions (in association with)

Budget

$140,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend

$49,100,158 (USA) (12 August 2007) (3,778 Screens)

Rotten Tomatoes:

Rated 19% on rotten tomatoes and 68% of the audience liked it

.

Review by Manohla Dargis - New York times

"

The junky, clunky, grimly unfunny Rush Hour 3 isn't the worst movie of the summer. But it's an enervating bummer nonetheless."

Review by Peter Bradshaw - Guardian [UK]

"They're back! That lovable duo, back to kick some ass and ogle some babes! Yes - it's Max Von Sydow and Roman Polanski."

Date Night

Director: 

Shawn Levy

Writer: 

Josh Klausner

Stars:

 Steve Carell, Tina Fey and Mark Wahlberg

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (as Twentieth Century Fox) (presents)
• 21 Laps Entertainment (as 21 Laps)
• Dune Entertainment III (made in association with)
• Media Magik Entertainment

Budget:

 $55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

 $25,207,599 (USA) (11 April 2010) (3374 Screens)

Rotten Tomatoes:

Rated 66% on Rotten tomatoes and 58% of the audience liked it.

Review by Mark Pfeiffer Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

"Date Night takes two funny people, puts them in unfunny situations, and has them do and say unfunny things."

Review by Lael Loewenstein Variety

"A romantic comedy with action, edge and genuine chemistry between its leads, Date Night scores a home run."

Ad from TV

    

This 30 second advert has appeared on Television a few times on different channels. The animation of dancing mobiles shows that the subject is about recycled old mobile phones. The song that is used would grab viewers’ attention even if it’s not what they’re looking for.

The target audience for this advert would be adults. But the Ad is animated with also attracts children. This could be because the child would then tell the adult about what they’ve seen, and it could be what the adult was looking for.

The Mazuma Mobile Advert aimed to increase the audience’s understanding of how old mobile phones could still be useful instead of just lying around the house hidden somewhere.

Mazuma Mobile Maz and the Mazumites TV Advert has a very catchy at the same time informative jingle. The lyrics are actually the general picture of what Mazuma is about and how to turn phones to cash.

The connotations that people could get from the advert are

  Mobiles (animated)

·         White background

·         Dancing

·         Subtitles

·         Coins/Money

·         Laptop

·         Website (at the top of the screen throughout Ad)