Taken:
This is the opening sequence for the film Taken.
Before the film starts we are presented with the title of the film company "20th century fox", this a universal opening and is placed before the opening of every film that they create in order for the audience to recognise their work.
The screen then changes to black while it introduces some credits and information about the company. The use of the plain black background with the white writing in smart font makes the film look very serious furthermore there is no sound present which adds to the affect.
The opening shot is home recording of a child and family opening presents we still do not hear any sound on the screen at this point. The camera is fixed on the same eye level as the girl (child) opening her presents, this hints to us that she could be the main character and that we are just looking back at her life.
Credits and titles start to appear on the screen in the same font as before, this font is very bold and modern like, almost futuristic, something you would associate with a spy. These helps the audience understand what kind of film genre it is.
The music then begins to start,it is the sound of a piano being played in a soothing but sad way, this sound makes us understand that what is being shown is a past memory and could be very significant to their lives.
The characters shown are very happy and cheery and look to be having a good time celebrating a birthday whereas the music is very contradicting and upsetting.
Suddenly the camera changes completely and moves to a man sitting in a dark room, we see him sitting alone and straight away understand that he must of been having a flash back. The memory seems to be hurting him emotionally as his facial expressions seem to be distressed, upset and in pain. The lighting in the room is very dark and we can only make him out slightly, there are shadows behind him which set the scene making him look in the "dark" both physically and mentally.
This week we evaluated each others work in lesson time to see our progress so far on our opening sequences as a group, below are the images of the feedback we received from our fellow peers.
I have done some additional research in to thriller films to find out about what kinds of sound's and effects are present in these films. In return it will hopefully help me to create a suitable soundtrack for our opening sequence. I have only analysed the first couple of minutes of each film that I looked at as i felt it was only needed to do that part due to the length of our opening sequence. Below are the two films i looked at: Gone: (2012 thriller)
Immediately the film begins with a high pitched but quiet noise of a piano in the background, it is kept subtle but we are able to hear it, while this is happening we are presented with a black screen, this gives a mysterious affect. The music begins to fade out as soon as we are able to see the picture, it becomes lower and fainter but is joined with an eerie sound that matches the scariness of the location. As the character shown begins to walk the music brings in chiming sounds that match her ever move, this creates suspense as we feel like she is being watched. The music carries on being very cold and dark throughout the first 2 minutes to compose a dramatic atmosphere.
This has shown me that that simple sounds like high pitched pianos add a lot to a film, they can change the mood and bring feelings of emptiness. Eerie sounds can also be used to thrill the audience and help create a feeling of suspense. Safe house: (2012 thriller)
The films starts on a silent note, it is then joined by a slow crawling sound that begins to increase. Characters are present at this time and as the man begins to punch more viciously on the punch bag the music pairs nicely creating anger. The scene then cuts to set the location and the music lifts creating a pleasant atmosphere which contrasts well with the previous footage.
This has shown me that tension and curiosity can occur when there is no music present, it can also add the feeling of dark and coldness to the scene. Likewise matching the sounds to what is going on helps create a build up and anxiety to what is shown in the scene.
Here I have looked into three opening sequences to help me understand what they must contain and how they can be successful. 13 going on 30.
-The films begins with an opening of credits, the colours used are bright and girly and the text is written in a hot pink font this gives us a sense straight away that the film is not to serious and is probably a chick flick.
-The music used in the opening credits is up beat and cheerful, the melody has a feminine vibe depicting that the film is targeted at women.
-As we are introduced to the first character she is shown to be wearing a casual outfit that tells us that it is set in early 90's. The girl shown is most probably the main character as she is shown first of all, in addition the girl looks to be about 13 years old, linking this back to the title of the film.
-The starting location is inside a school full of other children. This tells us that she is a child who is still in education and the beginning of the film is probably about her early life "13" and as the film goes along we will watch her grow and become "30".
-The girl is shown to be having her school photograph taken, this can usually be a humiliating time for children. Behind her is a queue of other children who are also lined up waiting. The attention is focused on the girl who sitting in front of a screen, this helps us as an audience to apprehend that she is the centre of attention.
-The camera starts as a close up of her face letting us see what she looks like, it then pans out setting the scene and letting us see the location When the characters begin to converse it flits between allowing us to understand clearly what is happening.
-The dialogue between the other characters and the girl is not pleasant they seem to be saying very rude comments to her. This gives us a sense that she could be a victim in this film, she shown to be pushed around in the first minute giving us an immediate thought that she is weak.Even the photographer mispronounces her name, usually adults are portrayed as understanding and kind but in this situation he is shown to be just as bad as the kids.
Hairspray
-The film starts with the camera panning into a city, it zooms in from the sky looking down on a vast scenery to set the scene for the audience.
-Credits and titles are shown on the screen written in a funky style font expressing that the film is going to be upbeat and fun.
-As the camera pans in towards the city, a tapping noise is played in the background like a basketball being bounced on the floor, this helps build up a suspense which will hopefully lead into something worth waiting for. Furthermore as it begins to draw into the streets diegetic sounds start to add to the backing music creating excitement.
-We are shown a clip of a newspaper with the date printed at the top so the audience are able to release what date the film is set, likewise character are introduced wearing outfits from the 50's such as large dresses and curly hair for the women and tight suits and greased hair for the men.
-There are a variety of camera angles shown, some looking down on the people and some looking on eye level, they are all used when the characters are shown to be working. The different camera angles can help us understand their importance in the film and in the world, for example we look down on the man opening a shop, this lets us know that he is not going to be playing a big part and is just an average person.Furthermore it lets the audience get a feel of what the location looks like, as we are able to view it from numerous angles.
-During this period of time racism was still about, it is advertised in this film as we are able to see two black men cleaning peoples shoes, the camera is on their eye level and we are never able to see the people's shoes they are cleaning. This highlights the power of both characters.
-Finally we are introduced to the main character this is clear due to several reasons, firstly the pace of the music changes, the camera starts to zoom into her at a faster speed, we watch her get dressed, just as the alarm goes off. The camera is only fixed on her, drawing our attention on to her making the audience intrigued.Lastly when she begins to sing it clearly specifies the genre of being a musical film, that is happy and could be a Rom-com. The use of the colorful setting suggest the film will be bright and positive.
The Hangover
-The film commences with a soundtrack of a Spanish type song, the camera is at chest level and we can see people dressed in white taking flowers out of a van. The screen dissolves into another shot of a large white cake expressing to us that this is a wedding scene.
-The font shown on the screen displaying the credits is written in a posh, white, swirly style this adds to what is going on the back ground with the expensive wedding, hinting that the film may be elegant and classy.
-Immediately we hear a phone ring and a voice mail being left, this introduces us to a character but also makes the audience wonder what is going on as we are not able to see the person speak.
-The shots continue to dissolve into scenes of people setting up the wedding, the location and mise-en-scene looks very grand and fancy suggesting that the characters are going to be rich.
-The phone still continues to ring and several other voice mails are left, we begin to wonder if the wedding is not as organised as it seems, finally a women is introduced as she is the one calling the person. She looks very stressed and worried, we can clearly see that it is her wedding day as she is being pampered.
Our opening sequence is thriller based genre, the characters include a girl aged 16-17 and man in his late 30's-40's. It begins with the girl sitting at home in her front room, she walks over to the living room and picks up a photo frame of her self that is on the shelf. The camera cuts the exacts same picture but it is being held by a man sitting in a car. We are not able to see his face, or what he is doing. He begins to watch her through his laptop screen as he has set up CCTV camera's around her house. It is clear that she is being watched as the screen changes to black and white every time he views her to help the audience realize that he is stalking her.She walks into the kitchen and looks out the window,the camera cuts again to his face which is directly watching her, although she cannot see anyone out side. We have done this to trick the audience. Lastly she walks back into the TV room and gets a knock at the door, she answers it and it is the man. It then cuts to the credits.
Continuity editing is the idea that everything flows in a chronologically, smooth order, sequence by sequence. For example, what ever is shown at the beginning of the film will only change naturally with the charter's e.g. A man is wearing a coat in the first scene, he continues to wear this into the next scene as it is moving sequence by sequence in order. By doing this is indicates that the scene was shot in order and everything was thought through well allowing the editing to be continuous, hence the title "continuity editing"
The image below shows a picture of our Spooks sequence, we were given screen shots of the program and then told to put them back in the correct order. Both our sequences and the original spooks sequences contained parallel and inter cutting parts. This helps to show what is going on at the same time, it also heightens the action keeps the audience intrigued. Our spooks sequence has involved establishing shots, double shots and re-establishing shots. Although after we checked through our remade spooks sequence it was evident that there were some vital errors such as, shots happening before they are meant to, mix up of some of the shots and dialogue in the wrong order. These issues would not allow the sequence to flow through in chronological order.
A title sequence is shown on a television program or cinematic film, they present the title, production company and cast members using interesting visuals, audio soundtrack or both. This is then followed with the opening credits.opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There may or may not be accompanying music. Where opening credits are built into a separate sequence of their own, the correct term is title sequence (such as James Bond and the Pink panther title sequences). Some examples of the order of opening credits are: Credits->film e.g.Halloween Film-> credits->film e.g.James Bond Film-> inter titles,on black->film inter-cut e.g.Psycho Titles on the film->film inter-pressed e.g.legally blonde.
Mean girls: Throughout the whole film there has been a clear use of stereotypes, this is automatically visible by the way they have typical stereotyped teenagers. The teenagers have been set up into cliques in the school such as "nerds, jocks, the popular's and plastics etc", although these groups have been overly exaggerated by the costumes, props and the overall mentality of the characters. From analyzing the main character's and their group (the popular's) we can see a clear divide between males and females. For example the women are represented as stuck up, rude, ignorant, bitchy and vain. They are glamorous, skinny (of the perfect size) and seem to be dressed in the correct attire. They are viewed as dumb, judgmental, spoilt and slutty by others but also superior and popular as everyone wants to be liked by them.The clothes they wear in mean girls is very revealing, short, pink and shows a lot of skin in all places. In the picture below you can see they are all wearing very short skirts, high heels, all have their hair down. This shows that they are all the same they wear the same things and there all doing a 'sexy' pose. This message shown through the way these girls dress is that your only going to be pretty and popular if you dress less. On the other hand the Males are portrayed differently The popular males known as "The jocks" are all attractive characters, they are athletic, fit, muscular and charming to any girl. The jocks seem to be able to get any girl they want and are always the center of attention between the women. The males don't seem to be so judgmental although they can be seen to use the women for sex and only to get rateings from their friends not for and actualrelationship. The males seem to always dress in tight fitting tops to enhance their muscular physique, which is though as appealing to the females. Their hair is always styled neatly and they seem to have perfect facial features. The summary representation of males shows that if they are handsome, charming and sweet talking to girls they will be seen as popular which will be attractive to girls.
Equilibrium =
Elle Woods is a college student who is deeply in love with her boyfriends Warner Huntington, they are both happy with their lives and he is expected to go on to Harvard University next year.
Disruption=
Elle thinks that Warner is deeply in love with her and is going to propose to her although he decides to break up with her.
Recognition=
Elle is extremely upset and sad for a while as she believed that they were perfect for each-other.
Repair=
Desperate to win Warner back Elle decides to study for the law entrance exam into Harvard uni, she passes this. She realizes that Warner i not interested in her any more as he has moved on. This gives her the motivation to succeed.
New equilibrium =
Elle makes a friend through work known as Emmett, they both become attracted to each other and start a relationship.Finally he proposes to her and they are happy. Propp: Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets
Characters: Hero= Harry Potter Villan=Voldermort Helper=Ron and Hermione Mentor= Hagrid and other teachers Blocker= Ron and Hermoine Prize= Harry Potter Dispatcher= Professor Quirell Preparation =
Harry lives with his Auntie, Uncle and cousin. He has an average life. Complication=
Harry's family start to receive mysterious letters as they are being harassed they move to a safe location in the middle of no-where. Transference=
Hagrid finds Harry and explains to him that he is a wizard. Struggle=
Hagrid takes Harry away and brings him to Hogwarts school. His family begin to hate him even more than before. Harry faces some problems with Voldemort and other villains, who want to kill him. Return=
Harry along with two of his friends (Ron and Hermione) defeat Voldemort. Recognition=
Harry is recognized as a hero, he makes some best friends and finally feels a sense of belonging in his world as valued wizard. Straus:Twilight
Binary opposites=
-Vampires VS werewolves are used as an opposite although they are both portrayed as negative characters in real life.
-Good VS evil is used between some of the characters.
-Most of the film is set in a dark location which matches the binary of being scary, dark and haunting.
-Super power Vs strength between the characters is used.
-Innocence Vs corrupted between Edward and Jacob.
The film begins with an old sepia image of Paris, as the
camera moves in we are greeted with weary, menacing music. The photo then
becomes alive and reveals and old city, shown with huge grand buildings, old
cars and smartly dressed people, the colours used are browns, blacks and greys
to portray the mood of the area. As the camera pans in we can clearly see the
city, it looks dismal, dirty and messy. The ground is littered and there are pigeons
flying around. We can now see the detail on the buildings and it looks very
worn out and dusty. Old fashioned cars and shown as well as little children
dressed smartly running around playing, this clearly sets the scene and we are
able to recognise what century we are in.
The camera zooms into a royal car, and we are shown only the
bottom of a wheelchair, it is made from wood, the sound begins to fade and we
greeted with the noise of men moving around. We can still only see the feet of
the man but it portrays he may be a rich man as he shoes are formal looking and
polished well. As the man is wheeled into a grand building the mood changes and
the air begins to blow leaves around, this creates tension as we know something
is not right. Furthermore we have still not seen the faces of any of the
characters, this could portray that there is a mystery with this as we are not
too sure who anyone is or what they are up to.
The scene change to reveal the insides of an auction house,
the camera does a 360 pan to set the scene. We can clearly see the building is
ancient looking, it is run down, full of dust and cob webs and does not contain
much light, there are statues placed around the area like in a grand castle.
This detail makes the audience feel like the building is haunted and full of
dark (hence the light) secrets.
The only section of lighting in this opening scene is on the
seller, here is shown to be the centre of attention in this part so the
lighting use is used to portray this. The other characters are light only from
one side and the other is in darkness explaining that there is a dark side to
them, we are just not sure yet what it is. The rest of the huge building is in
complete darkness around the edges as no one dares to enter there.
The music begins to build up as a man buys an item; we sense
that something is going to happen. Before the next item is sold the atmosphere
is calm and quiet and we can only hear the man speak. Then as he announces it
every character turns to face the chandelier. Music begins to play, opera
sounds are heard and the atmosphere is left only build up the suspense. As the
item is revealed the camera angle changes on the seller and we are now looking
up at him as if he knows something that we don’t, his tone of voice changes and
becomes more powerful.
Suddenly as the item’s cloth is taken off the sound lifts
right up and becoming deep and low pitched. Bright lights are shown as the area
begins to lighten up, the mood changes as the colours become modern and every
prop is given life. The room becomes instantly cleaner and royal as the use of
red is portrayed with rich colours like deep purples and gold’s. The camera
moves around quickly trying to show everything change, the piano music begins
to play in repetitious motif and speeds up with a backing sound added. We begin
to hear organs, as the lights are lifted like a sign of commemoration.
