construction / development 5

I Have taken pictures of my main actor in different positions for the first part of the film. I now need to cut out the different pictures and begin animating it.

Development / construction 4

this small video shows use of cutting and sound editing to create emotion and change of pace.

Sound

I found a royalty free sound clip website http://soundbible.com/

I have found some sounds that I can use for the opening sequence as both non-diegetic diegetic sounds

http://soundbible.com/1935-Ocean-Waves.html
I can use this one for the first shot of the character by the sea of pills, it will make the pills seem more fluid.

http://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html

http://soundbible.com/1999-Rain.html

http://soundbible.com/916-Perfect-Thunder-Storm.html

http://soundbible.com/1782-Tyrannosaurus-Rex-.html
I can use this for the part where we the character rips through food in the second section

http://soundbible.com/1472-Depth-Charge.html
for surreal ground impact

http://soundbible.com/1925-Slow-Paper-Rip.html

http://soundbible.com/863-Dolphins.html

http://soundbible.com/1660-Underwater-Pool.html
creates immersed environment and amplified emersion

http://soundbible.com/1297-Rowing-A-Boat.html

http://soundbible.com/1818-Rainforest-Ambience.html
this sound clip can create a juxtaposition of environment

http://soundbible.com/1267-Swimming-Pool-Ambiance.html

by using different sounds I can create a different feel to the whole video by placing the viewer's senses in conflict. I can uses sounds that also represent the emotion or meaning of the scene instead of using visuals.

Planning

Props needed:

Part 1:

paper cut outs
pictures of actor
movement references
over head lamp
tripod

this part is going to take the most amount of time and will need the most resources, this means I will need a place that is accessible and a controlled environment, a desk in my house is the most reasonable and easy place to choose to shoot this part.

part 2:

leaves
bread/meat (tearing food)
tripod
external lights
black sheet
pillows/ mattress

For this part I will need access to the drama studio for about an hour and the use of one light to shine on the actors face. I can also use a dark room with a single light to illuminate the actors face, possibly more black sheets needed if the drama studio isn't used.


Part 3:

armchair
means to move the armchair around.

Fashion:
the character will be wearing black clothes throughout the whole piece.

locations:
drama studio
main hall
forest type setting

Audience Profile

Audience profile

My main target audience is going to be 14-19 year olds.

I chose to make my piece with this demographic in mind because the whole film would be a coming of age film and these are usually starring teenagers or children who grow throughout the film, this helps the viewers relate to the characters.

It is not only the age but the contents of the film that would point it towards this primary demographic, the activities that the actors participate in will also be ones that the teenagers will also be involved in. For example the opening of Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007) shows Ellen Page drinking Sunny D and then taking a pregnancy test, this wouldn't be too alien for many teenage girls and so a relationship is built between the character and the viewer.

Especially films like Mean Girls and american high school related film are built to relate to the general teenage population (of america) by setting the film in a school there is an immediate emotional connection, in any way the viewer experienced school there will still be a relation to the film.

Things that are implemented into coming of age films are supposed to relate to people of the teenage age range, this is more common than films which are targeted secondly at adults because an adult audience is supposedly targeted with more hard hitting films and ones where more classical and art cinema is directed towards. This is because the prejudices that adults hold are more ingrained and wider so the film maker is allowed to lean on lots of different aspects to create a different feeling to the film so it appeals more towards adults, it is not simply putting the protagonist as a similar age range to the target audience.

Many coming of age films include parents thought the eyes of the children that are involved in the film. This could be a reason as to why the parents are the secondary audience, they also have a role in the film that they can relate to and learn from.

Character profile

Character profiles

The main character will be slightly mysterious, the opening sequence will not explain massively who they are but will explain what they are going through and what their character traits are, what we will see is a teenage character and the situations that they are in, inside their mind, this is shown through different styles that show each character trait I have given them.

Our character is not very special, they are supposed to represent a general idea of a teenager who will react normally as we would expect to situations that she is put through. we will be largely focused on her mental state throughout the film meaning by the end of the film we will feel as though we know her very well and have almost been though the situations with her.

the beginning of the film (the opening sequence) will introduce us to the character as they are before the coming of age takes place so traditionally they would still be childish and unknowledgeable. I don't plan on this character being like that, this character will be living inside their own mind, much like Oliver Tate or any character from a John Green novel: well spoken and articulate outside of their own mind whilst struggling to understand themselves, a slight irony if you will.

Since all the scenes in the opening sequence take place in the characters mind, they will be wearing all black (neutral state) this allows us to project emotions and actions onto them more easily than if their clothing was in contrast to the scene. it is also more representative of the interaction that the character feels like they have with their own mind. They are more disconnected with themselves so their clothes will be neutral and not especially comfortable or lavish because they are not 'at home' in their own mind.

Typography

Research into font types 

Casper the friendly ghost is a large font reminiscent of casper, there is also a slight threatening feeling  with the pointy sharp parts.

Slightly mismatched font like the zombies in the movie, it is meant to reflect the decrepit  state of the zombies and the world in which the film is set.

This font is more synonymous with the spiderman franchise so there is immediate familiarity when it is seen, it is almost part of the spiderman film character.

The design of the glitches letters is a reflection of the whole basis of the film being inside a computer.

This font looks like it could have been drawn using a Japanese brush painting technique, this emphasises the setting of the film.

the main focus of Harry's name is the lighting scar on the bottom of the P which is something Harry is global known for, the rest of the letters are a bit crooked and not uniform, this is reminiscent of the wizarding world being crooked and mismatched.

strong bold all the same size letters. 

this font is from a coming of age film, now we see that there is no real stand out style here, the font is quite bold but could also be considered a standard modern classic style. this is probably because the characters in the film aren't massively different they are just going thought their own things and don't show it to anyone, so this is possibly where the font relates to.

Ordering

The ordering of the names of the cast and crew are always differently ordered between each film apart from the production companies being right at the beginning. 

I think I want the directors name to be at the end of the opening sequence and the actors names at the beginning (both places hold weight) 

people to include:

actors 

director

set design

sound design

cinematographer

writer(s)

Development / construction 3

I have been looking at different elements that I can use in the stop motion part of the opening sequence here are a few images I am using or taking inspiration from.

 

Im going to take lots of information from this video and use it to help me make my stop motion.

01/12/15

Development / construction 2

I decided for the third section of my video I would incorporate some surrealist techniques and so began some research on different things used in history as to what I could take inspiration from.


I found this video very useful as it explains the general techniques with examples from their origins.

26/11/15

Development/ construction 1

First story boards 26/11/15

Preliminary

Preliminary



To make this piece I had to research match on action, it means showing an action in one shot that is then seamlessly followed from another shot with the same action. This taught me that the simplest way to display match on action was to show someone walking through a door from both sides beginning on the outside and then switching to inside the room as the person comes through and closes the door. this technique allows the audience to be more immersed in the scene and docent break that with action thats hard to follow.

Planning this video I created a story board that showed the different shots and dialogue i was going to use. This wasn't very difficult as the scene is quite short so i could plan exactly each shot i would use.

The filming went well, we used an empty class room as this scene wasn't exactly about the setting making sense as much as the action. so i set up chairs in the class room as i had them in my story board and explained to the actors what the scene would be. Directing simple movements like walking and sitting docent take much skill so the filming did not take long at all.

In the editing process i found that one of the shots I want to include didn't work so iI managed to (by filming extra when i was on set) make the scene continue and make sense quite easily. I played around with the timing of each shot to make the scene flow and make the joke at the end work.

Thinking of a concept/idea

Thinking of a concept/idea

The idea is to create three different styles that show three different characters and their flaw.
each character's style will reflect their flaw or explain it.

Social group representation

Representation of social groups

miese en scene
sound
camera angles
editing

Almost Famous

William Miller, 15 years old

This character's clothes are quite standard subdued 70/80's clothes, this shows a lot about his character as he is quite a quite reserved person and so his clothes are not flashy or making a statement. This helps us identify with him as he is around the target audience's age and we like him because he's accidentally awkward and funny in an endearing way. His hair is also not fancy it seems as though just like a standard teenage boy he does not take  much notice of it. He grows up with his mother and sister where we see the controlling of his mother that many teenagers can relate to allowing them to sympathise with William on a personal relationship level.

The music that William likes is quite rebellious and is also the soundtrack to the film, Stillwater is a rock band from the 80/90's that many parents did not agree with and as it becomes a massive plot point we are drawn towards the escapism and rebellion of what William is doing and what we could only dream of ever doing. What he's doing is really cool and many people will never have the chance to go through a journey on this level that will change them as a person so we are attached to what we see on film and romantically relate to the things that we only have small glimpses of in real life.

The colours used in the film are very reminiscent of the time it is set, it is said to not just be a film about William but a film about the time and this is very true, everything has been designed to remind and emulate the time period.

Penny Lane

This character is a very important character in the film, she teaches William so much about women and love. She is based on a real person who toured america with many bands in the early seventies. Her clothes are subtle flamboyant and seductive but in a more reserved way, her clothes are pretty and girly mostly. This helps normal girls relate to her as she is not massively rich, so anyone could be her and people hold onto this when relating to the characters. If there is a reasonable similarity of any magnitude between you and the person on screen the relation to them is much larger.

Some of the music that links to Penny Lane is quite magical music, it is more pretty slow music, it is showing Williams view of her and how he adores her in the end. He sees her as a pure perfect character that he is falling tenderly in love with, and this is reflected in the music.

Good Will Hunting

Sean assumes the role of psyciatrist and ends up as a friend to Will Hunting. His original relationship with Will is shown in his clothing and the setting in which the meet to talk. He is a simple dresser but uses warm dull tones like browns and greys, sometimes he has sunny yellows that show us his nice caring side, not many people relate to this character as psychiatrists aren't a large profession but also not many people become friends with geniuses and have fundamental part and impact in their learning and lives. We see some changes in clothing when they become more friendly, Sean wears a hat the first time they speak outside of his office and this is shown to be a massive turning point in their relationship where respect and understanding begin. It is not because Sean wore a hat but they fact that his clothing changed specifically in that scene shows some importance.

Lots of the shots show the difference and opposites between the two characters for example their living conditions show that Sean is more well off but this only brings us closer to him as we see his loneliness and therefore the reason for his massive attachment to Will. We feel sympathy for him but also see that his actions are selfless and humble. the scene show above tells us a lot about the characters and their love as Sean has a long monologue where the camera is held at eye level on Sean only until he begins to talk about love where the camera pans to include Will showing us his attachment to him. We can relate to this as many people find it attractive to hold deep platonic relationships with other people because of out social nature.

 

Will Hunting is the main character in the film, his clothes are quite plain and simple, this reflects his choice of lifestyle to be uncomplicated and unimaginative. He dresses to blend in as he desires not to be special at the beginning of the move he holds the same style of clothes but near the end we understand it is more humble and intelligent for Will to try to blend in rather than be flashy and outwardly special. We can relate to this because the attractiveness of being different due to being a genius is something no one can say they don't want but the humbleness is also part of the relation.

Submarine

Oliver Tate is the main character in submarine, his clothes are a big part of his character and reflection of his emotions. Throughout the film his clothes change for example when his depression is at its peak he wears the same clothes as his father, the only person he know who has depression so his emulation of his dress and action in some cases is a very important part of the film. It also allows us to connect with the slightly childish side of this emulation, children learn from actions and so his copying allows us to see his more mature mind towards depression. Near the end of the film we see this change and his acceptance of having to deal with his problems in his own way. Growing like this is not something the target audience will relate to but the parents and older people watching will be able to see the transition that they themselves went through.

The music in Submarine is very important, it was specially written by Alex Turner to fit the films feel and is a character in itself at some points. It seems to encompass the emotion and the slight aimlessness that Oliver seems to go thorough. This seems to be something that a lot of teenagers go through and so the music to compliment but not depress the person going through the same thing is a very attractive part of the film. 

Learning Comments

• The characters are the most important part of any coming of age film, not just the main character who will grow and change but the supporting characters who bounce off the main character and become a very integral part of the plot and the change of  the main character.
• Paying attention to the mies-en-scene will be quite important in my opening sequence, it can be integral and expositional to create an entire world in a piece of film.
• Playing to the appropriate social group is quite important, using miss-en-scene to create a world/feeling that they can relate to and recognise is very valuable.

Previous work analysis

Analyse previous student work

Learning Comments

• These pieces of work have allowed me to see some important things to involve in my opening sequence but also things not to include and the amount of thought and technical knowledge that will be useful.
• The look of the piece is quite important and it is easy to tell the amount of effort that went into a piece by the way it looks and things implemented in it. for example the camera quality and speed of the clips really effect Roses are Red making it uncomfortable to watch
• Colouring the footage to enhance the desired look is something that The Edge uses very well and is something I will be focusing on in my opening sequence to achieve the desired look and feel.
• I have seen in these pieces of work that the sound quality and the type of sound e.g. diegetic non-diegetic and how they fit in with the story or create a juxtaposition. This could include voice overs, music and dialogue to name a few. I can implement this learning into my work by taking great care in the sound design and look at what it is saying and enhancing as a story line on its own.

Narrative Theory

Narrative Theory

Propp - Character theory

Propp claimed that there was pre defined character roles that all stories inadvertently stuck to.
In Submarine we can link characters that we know to the roles that Propp proposed.

Our Hero is Oliver, although sometimes not that regal and correct he seeks to do good and help others in the only ways he knows. This can be seen in the opening sequence because we only see Oliver, showing us he is the most important part of the story, this is usually the hero.

The Villain could be split between Graham Purvis and Jordan's Mum's Cancer. This is split because the Hero has two self appointed tasks to complete which is what the whole story is based on, he must stop is parents from splitting up and he must be a good boyfriend to Jordan firstly so they can loose their virginity and then because he cares deeply for her. Both Graham and the cancer challenge his ability to do this.

The Dispatcher is Oliver himself, this isn't too unusual in coming of age films where a character goes themselves or inadvertently gives themselves a task to complete that eventually changes them as a person.

In some ways we could argue that the False Hero is also split because we see these two different challenges that out Hero faces being completely separate until the very climax so we see Books as the False Hero in Oliver's attempts to keep his parents together as his incessant reading leads him to take his reading as a definitive answer to some problems in both cases. Chips is also a False Hero because he is giving Oliver (what we see to be) completely the wrong advice about how to deal with his affections towards Jordan.

The Princess is Jordan as Oliver seeks to be with her for the whole movie and (SPOILER) in the very end he is 'rewarded' by the two of them coming together again.

There are a few un filled roles as is the nature of Submarine Oliver is left on his own for most of the picture, this isn't uncommon for coming of age films as we see a lot of character development from our main characters overcoming obstacles on their own.

Todorov - Equilibrium

Submarine is a great example of Todorov's theory since near to the beginning of the film we begin to see Oliver's equilibrium, of being on his own and trying to figure out who he is, broken by his inadvertent interaction with Jordan that brings them close. Then Graham moving into the next-door house. Then the rest of the film is Olivers sporadic and rocky attempts to resolve these problems. The theory is completed when a new equilibrium is come across, we don't see much of it but understand that it is equilibrium.

Levi-strauss - Culture reflections

Submarine slightly fulfils Strauss' theory of binary opposites as there is some conflicts of this sort in the story. We see Oliver fight for the good of his parents staying together rather than splitting, these sides (as everything in the film) is determined in Oliver's head and so we do not make the rightness or wrongness of a side we just observe. We also see Boy against Girl in the breakdown of Oliver's relationship with Jordana.

Barthes - Five codes

There is lots to argue that The Semantic and Symbolic codes are the most predominant in submarine as lots of meaning is implemented across the film, there is lots of symbolism that points us towards hidden meanings in the film allow the audience to look deeper into the characters. In some ways the two codes compliment each other as the symbolism adds to the semantic meaning.


Learning comments

• I had not heard of the last two theories but they are very interesting and adaptable to different films which is the point of them. I think they will be useful to me when making my opening sequence as it has opened my eyes to the way different narrative codes can compliment one another.
• The character types will be interesting to try and implement into my opening sequence, I will most probably have to rely on prejudices or obvious assumptions to keep a good opening sequence timing but also introduce characters and their place in the piece 
• The main character shown in the opening sequence is almost always our hero this is a common theme throughout all genres of film not just coming of age. 
• We are sometimes told a story in the opening sequence of a film and this is something I want to so in mine so using these character types and codes will really help me form a good narrative.

Production Companies

Learning Comments -

• Whole range of production companies, they most of the time, focus on producing a few specific genres or types of film.
• theres a feeling of personality from the type of films that are backed by a company, they seem to be forwarding a certain political or personal agenda by producing different types of film.
• Film4 would be a good choice for my film to be produced by because they usually back interesting films that bring up slightly controversial topics or character struggles, they also manage to produce films with incredibly good actor and director combinations.
• a successful company produces lots of different types of film e.g. 20th century fox this is a massive company that has many different sub companies that individually produces different types of film funded mainly by the umbrella productions from the main companies funding of blockbusters.

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/almost-famous/

Title Research

The type of information shown in a title sequence can vary from each director, some have a large focus on actors for example if the film is commercially driven the actors names will be considered very important if they are famous or if the director is very well known their name will be in a prominent position in the sequence. On the other hand directors such as John Hughes usually has un known actors to the big screen yet he puts all their names in the sequence and sometimes the text is the only thing apart from music that is included in the opening. We can really begin to see personalities in title sequences, we see what the director values in their film.

At the beginning of every opening sequence there will be production companies, this is the rule of thumb when it comes to opening sequences, there is to be the up most respect held to the production companies because they are funding the whole film, therefore they are placed at the very beginning of the film so everyone in given the information of who has produced the film.

Fonts are also a very important part of the opening sequence, they can affect the audience's whole mood, perceptions of time and setting. for example a film made as a piece of cinematic art (art house) would most commonly use a classic font like times new roman, one that everyone knows and associates with professionalism and correctness. Coming of age films are too wide of a genre to have a common font as coming of age as a genre encompasses many other genres. We can assume though, that the font in a coming of age film will reflect the youthfulness of the film, possibly playful and colourful, many directors use bold or embossed fonts that use bright colours. The use of colourful or stylistic fonts that look attractive on screen will attract the audience because of the aesthetic of the words. 

There is a large range of ways the text in coming of age opening sequences enters and leaves the screen all depending on the style of the film. Up beat films could have flashing text or zooming in or out. Films like Juno have a complete separate title sequence where Mise en scene and the whole style of the piece is a set up to create a feeling for the audience of what the films style is. This use of style can be seen in the opening to Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) where the text is bold red and over laps on screen, this is a reflection of the movie being bold and rebellious. Giving a certain characteristic to a piece of text is very powerful and can give great exposition to the sequence.

Learning Comments

• Lots of exposition is needed and given in a good opening sequence, this will set up the whole film for the audience and is very important, the amount of exposition can be completely controlled but the viewers perception of those implementations isn't always uniform, if a piece of exposition is very important then its going to have to be very obvious.
• appropriate use of text formatting and font to fit the style and time this is more exposition but with text, possibly the most useful tool to get information across since it cannot be mis interprited but not always the most inventive or interesting to the audience.   
• sometimes precursors and hints at the themes in the film are in the opening sequence, this is quite an interesting and in depth part of creating an opening sequence, putting things in the sequence that will only be obvious once the film has been viewed, possibly not so useful in my situation as the whole film won't be made but it can be used to hint at character traits or up coming plot lines in a creative and interesting way.

Director Case Study

Task 5 - Director Case Study

Learning comments-

• I really like John Hughes focus on the individual's problems and the explanation of those. He manages to capture the fast paced life of trying to understand the world that teenagers go through.
• Hughes shaping of the american teenager is very impressive and I would like to base a character on the themes and values he uses for his films.
• Jason Reitman's use of slightly controversial themes is interesting but i think it would be hard to do in an opening sequence.possibly creating precursors to a controversial topic not the actual topic is more reasonable and quite interesting in an opening sequence, it also gives me a good plot device.

History Of Coming Of Age Films

History Of Coming Of Age Films

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-coming-of-age-films-1995b07c-7ab5-45fa-ba0e-855282bfcc95

sources used:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-ponsoldt/25-best-coming-of-age-films-james-ponsoldt_b_3739551.html

www.Imdb.com


Learning comments:

• Some coming of age films are not obvious, some you wouldn't expect to fit into this category but still show us good character development and growing of them.
• many have the same sort of plot
• it is a very popular genre
• many young directors make great coming of age movies, possibly related to their age.
• The coming of age genre can be included in almost any other genre, any setting where a young character through the film grows and changes can be considered a coming of age film, this is useful as I can set my opening sequence in any setting.

Opening Credits

Opening Credits

1. - Children Of Men

2. - Skyfall

3. - Lord Of War


(see above)

4. - Submarine

5. - Back To The Furture

6. - Bridget Jones' Diary

7. - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless mind

Learning Comments:

• Production companies always at the start, this rule is sometimes broken in the event of the production companies holding another place in the sequence that has large weight, such as the very end. I could follow this trend or disregard it completely with the intention of my disregard of it being obvious and therefore allowing the abnormality of the placement being even more powerful than an obvious one.
• Important people's names are usually in a powerful place on screen, this is also usually directly correlated with the style of the film, for example eternal sunshine has all text in the bottom left in the opening sequence, this is simply the style of the film and everything just follows because the auteur is more important than the power of the names involved.
• Sometimes the general scene is set in the sequence, this is true for almost all, it seems a bit confusing to not explain to the audience even a little bit of what is going on in the whole film in the opening sequence.
• Sometimes there are precursors to the events of the film, this is different to exposition of the setting or storyline, it is a little more complex since the precursors could be to a character's traits or to an event in the film, these cannot be obvious because the film would loose our interest if we knew what was going to happen before it did.
• The font of text is very important to the feel of the sequence, the font and style of the text is imperative, our perceptions are affected massively by the style of text in a films opening sequence, assumptions are made that if wrong ruin the viewing experience of the film. text can set the scene or time of the film just by looking old or space like or classical ect.