The aim of this task was to establish a clear idea of the sounds we want to use in our opening sequence as well as showing exactly why we went to use specific types of music.
In addition to the points on the right, we also thought it was imperative to our opening sequence to have music that would 'set the scene' for the rest of the film.
We feel as if the music we have chosen can successfully do this because it provides several connotations as to where the plot could be heading.
Given that the music is both slow and peaceful, we wanted to represent Ralph as this type of character and hopefully this do so successfully.
After conversing with an audience member on how we can improve our opening sequence, we found that it was going to be very difficult to achieve a high grade with the footage we have at the moment. Problems we identified included the factors below:
To work on these improvements, we will need to shoot again in order to make our opening sequence considerably better.
Most importantly, we need to make sure that we are going to provide more content for the audience within this sequence. This is because after watching the opening sequence, we do not have enough for the audience to stay engaged with.
Furthermore, we feel as if the content used is lacking in action a little bit thus failing to engage the audience. As a result, we will need to use match on action to show close up shots of Ralph painting. As a result, we practiced these shots prior to the film which will allow us to get a better idea of the shots we need to use in our sequence to make it more engaging.
Below we practiced our match on action techniques that we aim to use in our opening sequence.
After filming this scene, we found that using a tripod for the majority of our shots is the most effective way of achieving a steady and professional opening sequence. This is because filming without a tripod, free-hand, we find it difficult to shoot a steady shot especially outside.
After filming on Saturday (5th December) we found that our footage was, on the whole, at a good standard as to what we were wanting to achieve on this official filming day as a group. Nevertheless, we found some problems even after doing planning and research in great detail for a number of weeks prior to the filming day.
Most inconveniently, we were challenged by the weather conditions throughout the day. The most troubling aspect was the wind at our location. Even after moving our filming days several times to suit our needs. The wind was extremely inconvenient because of the weight of the props. Given that the props were pieces of paper, it was most inconvenient because we had to have them still in order to film. As a result, it took us over half an hour to get the perfect shot but we did this by shielding the area in which we were filming the shot.
Moreover, the lighting also played a big problem as we were obviously limited by the sunset time (around 4pm). To be able to get around this, we arrived at the location by 1pm and set up an hour before the actor arrived. As we set up fairly quickly, we were able to shoot different shots such as the establishing shot where the actor, who was yet to arrive, was not needed.
On the whole, we found filming very successful because we had shot the things we had wanted.
Props, Location and Fashion Planning - Risk Assessment
In order to make the opening sequence both practical and efficient, the planning of: Props, risk assessment and location. This meant that we went in to more detail with our opening sequence through the planning of props. In addition, it will make sure that we arrive at the location with all the correct props and a safe environment to work in.
Given that we will be using an outdoor location, the planning is slightly hindered by the issues we face with weather such as rain and bad light. As a result, we will not be able to film on Sunday 29th November because of rain and bad light.
In order to film fairly soon, we will have to look at the weather every day and plan different days to film depending on light. This will result in us being able to film on a day that the lighting is adequate and there is no rain that will stop the acting.
This font fit the character in our opening sequence because the style of the writing is in a artistic way which can give an insight into the characters background just from the style the title of the opening sequence is written.
Using brail after the title is really effective in showing the potential problems the character has before the character is even in the shot.
This font is all in upper case which can have different effects on what the title is showing to the audience about the film. Using upper case text makes the title stand out being bold and should be the main feature of the film.
This font is more of a basic font but has the effect of smudged ink coming out of the side of each letter. This could be really effective for our opening sequence because with the character being a artist the effective ink or paint dripping away from the letters gives an artist style to the title of the film.
This typography is bold and in capital letters, this indicated that the title wants to be bold and stand out compared to anything else in the same shot in the opening sequence.
This font is in a more cartoon kind of style which can be good for our opening sequence because the character is a teenager and a cartoon style of text could be really effective in comparison to the social group of the character.
A handwritten style of text is very effective because it looks like the character has written the title and can give a insight into the characters profile.
This font is a basic style of font which could be a possibility for our opening sequence. The font could be used for a small title which isn't the main feature of the shot.
This font with the title in words and the title in brail would be very effective for our opening sequence because the use of brail can be relatable to the characters characteristic.
A handwritten style for the title can be very effective because the style of the title is in a artistic way which reflected on the characters personality
In this task we constructed our final script which will be handed to both actors in our play as well as the cameramen and us as directors. Similarly to the storyboard, this task allows us to have much better impression of how things will realistically take place in our opening sequence. Furthermore, it gives the actors a better idea of the opening sequence as they will be familiar with scripts from their respective acting careers.
In this task we finished finalising plans for our opening sequence. To be able to film our opening sequence efficiently and correctly, the storyboard was imperative to our final planning. In order to make this opening sequence easier to film, the storyboard also had to be clear and simple. We predominantly focused on camera angles as the most important part of our shot because from researching previous opening sequences, the camera angles looked to be the biggest aspect of a good opening sequences. Furthermore, we found that the use of shot lists were extremely useful because it gives us a much better idea as to what and how we are going to film each individual shot.
In this task we have developed our ideas on our protagonist, Ralph Curtis. In order to make the character have genuine characteristics and allow the audience relate to a legitimate character. Not only does it develop his own character but it also allows our actor to be able to understand the role more and therefore resulting in the character being played both precisely and effectively.
Our primary audience needs to be interested in with similar plots or themes for example dramas and powerful films. We also want our primary audience to have hobbies such as watching films and television being the main hobby or thing they enjoy. Others can be listening to music, playing video games, playing sports etc. Music that we want our primary audience to be interested in is slow and calm music as this relates to the music we are using in our film.
In this task we aimed to produce a successful short video where we demonstrate three key camera techniques - Match on action, shot/reverse shot and 180-degree rule. The most important reason for doing this task was to practice these techniques so we can include them in our final production.
Learning comment: This task proved very successful for my group as it allowed us to identify what we need to improve on when it comes to our final production. Several ways of improving we identified were aspects of the video such as faulty framing. Although it looks unprofessional in this video, it proves to be great value to us because we can make sure it will not happen in our final production. In addition, we had minor difficulties with the 'shot reverse' camera technique because of the number of actors and cameramen we had. As a result, we will carefully plan the logistics of our filming before filming days. This will allow us to efficiently make our opening sequence with hopefully completing our production within the set time scale. Despite my minor faults in our video that we have identified and will erase when it comes to final production, this preliminary task was a very good way of introducing complex camera techniques and rules such as 180-degree rule. Therefore we will be able to use these techniques when it comes to our final production in order to achieve a high grade.
In this piece of research i aim to identify how different social groups are represented to us as an audience at the beginning of the film. This is an extremely important element in the opening sequence because the representation of certain social groups can tempt the audience into form premature opinions on characters they are yet to understand properly.
Although the two social groups are of similar age in these two Coming Of Age films. I have found that the representation of the two groups are extremely different. As a result, i have identified that it is extremely important not to stereotype the social groups we are going to use in our production. Therefore i can say that this piece of research is extremely useful because it has given me the knowledge to know that it is very important to use our own interpretation of the specific social groups.
Learning comment: From this specific piece of in-depth research into the representation of certain social groups in films, I have clearly identified how the use of mise en scene, sound and camera angles portray individual demographics. For example, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off the use of extreme close ups in the opening sequence allow the audience to immediate build up an idea of what the character is going to be like due to the facial expressions showed through this camera angle. In addition, the use of sound can also have an effect on how certain social groups are portrayed. For example, the use of rap/hip-hop non diegetic sound in the opening of 21 Jump Street allows us to understand what this demographic is musically interested in. This example in 21 Jump Street partially typifies the stereo typing of male teenagers as if they all listen to this genre of music. As a result, we see that in many films, specific demographics are often portrayed in an unfair and perhaps incorrect way. Moreover, I found that there are a wide range of codes and conventions used in opening sequences to represent social groups. This is often done through the use of mise en scene, sound and camera angles as I have identified above.
In this piece of research i have aimed to identify what makes certain opening sequences so successfully engaging. This is a vital part of a film that needs to be delivered to full effect in order to entice the target audiences to watch the whole film. Therefore, from the narrative structure in particular, it is very important that the audiences are engaged almost immediately from the start of the opening sequence. Furthermore, i hope that this specific part of my research will broaden my knowledge of how to construct a narrative structure in my own opening sequence so when it comes to producing my own piece of practical work i will be able to apply this appropriately.
Learning Comment: From this particular piece of research i have identified certain conventions that are key to opening sequence's establishing of a narrative structure. This includes the clear indication of an equilibrium ('normality') as well as a slight hint at a disruption of this equilibrium through the use of several character types. i clearly saw this in the opening of Ferris Bueller's Day Off where Ferris was clearly portrayed as a 'hero' with the introduction of his sister who was being shown as the 'villain' due to her attempt of blocking Ferris' motive. As a result of this, it gave us a clear indication that there was going to be problems throughout the film - resulting in the audience wanting to carry on watching the film so they can see what issues arise for Ferris thus making this particular opening sequence successful due to the clear establishment of the narrative structure.
In this piece of research we designed a survey with several questions to get a broader knowledge of what audiences actually liked in an opening sequence. As well as this, we looked at specific films in-depth to find out more about their respective awards and grossing statistics. Most importantly, we interviewed two different demographics to get a better idea of what the two demographics liked and what they disliked in comparison to each other.
The first demographic we interviewed was 50-75. The reason we chose to interview this age range was due to the fact that this demographic might not be able to access the media platforms we put our survey on thus not having a clear idea of the opinions on this demographic. Therefore, by doing this, we have a broader knowledge of what this demographic values as a effective opening sequence.
The second demographic we interviewed was 12-17year olds. The reason we did this was to get a better idea as to what is an effective opening sequence for them. In particular, we interviewed a male due to the fact that we are likely to use a male protagonist in our film. This is because from our survey we found that the majority of under 16's enjoyed watching films with action which is usually containing a male. As a result, interviewing a male gave us a better idea as to what would make an opening sequence engaging for him. And, most importantly, why he watched his favourite films. This means that we will aim to engage this particular demographic in order to get a high audience numbers.
Several statistics on successful films
From this research we have found how certain films have be critically acclaimed for their productions. Furthermore, we have seen how it is possible to work from a relatively small budget but still achieve huge profits. This has helped us in our research because we now know that it is possible for us to make a successful film even with our limited resources.
Learning comment: In this piece of research i have discovered how important it is to understand the audience you are wanting to engage in your film. The production of a film is based on what the majority of the target audience feels is most engaging for them in an opening sequence. For example, in our survey we found that the vast majority of males under 16 were engaged through the use of one main character. Therefore, if we aim to engage this demographic we will try to use one main protagonist in order to engage this audience right. Moreover, through interviewing two different demographics, we made explicit links between their similarities and differences of what they like to see in an opening sequence. For example, they both enjoyed watching films in home comfort (DVD), however, the younger demographic preferred watching action films compared to the older demographic preferring films with a more meaningful narrative. Having considered these responses, we will attempt to include these preferences in our opening sequence in order to effectively engage our target demographic.
In this piece of research i picked out two students' work done from past years to give me some ideas as to how I should create my opening sequence and which techniques I have found to be effective. In addition, this task should also be able to give an insight as to what i should be aiming to create in my opening sequence.
The Edge
Grading: In my opinion, The Edge was an A Grade piece of work. I have judged it at this level due to the fact that it includes fundamental aspects that this standard of work should entail. This included, great variety in shots as well as demonstrating a clear and high level of creativity throughout the sequence. Above all, I thought the use of typography in this sequence was particularly effective and thus resulting in a high grade. In contrast, I thought the trailer for Revenge was at a much lower grade of C/D. I believed it to be on the boundary of these two grades due to the fact that the creativity shown is very basic. In addition, I thought they struggled to highlight key conventions of their film genre (horror) in the opening sequence. Most importantly, the use of ICT was limited in this sequence which made it very difficult to achieve a high grade like The Edge.
Learning comment: From this particular piece of research i have developed my ideas on how to shoot my own opening sequence. This is through the careful consideration of things such as camera shots/techniques as well as use of sound - which i have identified as being crucial to a successful opening sequence through the research during this task. In addition, i feel that this research has given me the opportunity to discover what other A Level students have produced and how they have been graded. This has been of great help to me because i am now aware of how to achieve a high grade in this practical aspect of my coursework. Above all, I found it very helpful how I was grading these pieces myself. This helped because it allowed me to understand how higher grades are achieved and will allow me to think about what I need to include in my opening sequence to try and achieve a high grade.
Learning comment: From this piece of research i have learnt how crucial typography is to the production of a successful opening sequence. As a result of this i will spend great amounts of time making sure i am choosing the most suitable, and more importantly the most effective, font type and colours. In reference to successful opening sequences i have analysed, i have particularly noticed how important the order of text is in showing how important specific people are in the production of the film. For example, the directors name is mentioned last in all of the opening sequences i have looked at. Therefore, i can identify this as a key conventions of opening sequences. Moreover, i have noticed how important it is to have the same font type throughout the whole duration of an opening sequence. I think this because it gives the film a clear identity and allows audiences to link the specific font to the individual opening sequence.
In this piece of research i attempt to identify key reasons for the success of certain film producers and distributers. As well as this, i think it will be key to my eventual production to understand why minor companies are unable to break the trend and be classed as 'major' companies. Above all, i will try to understand why major film companies have endured so much success as well as identifying ways we can successfully produce and distribute our own film successfully.
Learning comment
From this piece of research i have learnt that there are several producers and distributers that have produced numerous films. From this i have realised that there are successful distributors that are minor companies such as Dogwoof. This surprised me to a certain extent because before this research i thought that only major companies, e.g. Warner Bros, were successful. However, from this research i have learnt that this is not always the case. In addition, i have identified how important the distribution of films influence how the amount of success a film will have. Although minor film companies enjoy some success; the majority of the minor film companies will struggle to compete with the major ones due to the simple fact that the distribution of the major films will be on a much larger scale.
In this piece of research i will aim to start identify key conventions of opening sequences. I will predominantly do this through closely looking at the mise en scene, sound and camera angles. As well as this, i will also make sure that i identify reasons why the directors have included certain conventions in order to engage their specific target audiences. Most importantly, spotting key conventions for Coming Of Age films will be crucial for when we come to produce our own Coming Of Age Opening Sequence.
Learning comment: From this task i have identified similar codes and conventions to task one. However, having studied two films in much more detail, i have identified certain conventions that make these movies incredibly successful. For example, the use of the same font in Forrest Gump as well as the same font colour, gives the film a clear identity. As well as this, i have seen how important it is for the opening sequences to have interesting camera shots in order to engage the audience. Specifically in Forrest Gump, the use of a 'tracking' shot shows the audience the origin of the feather and where it ends up. This effective technique is definitely something i will consider trying to include in my opening sequence when it comes to production.
Learning comment: From this task i have learnt several things about the history of coming of age films. Firstly, i have learnt that there are several codes and conventions that reoccur in the majority of these types of films. Furthermore, i have identified that to make a successful film, it is imperative that you engage your target audience. For example, Juno uses on-screen graphics of a cartoon theme to enagage a younger audience demographic right from the start of the opening sequence.
37 year-old,
Jason Reitman, is a film director from Quebec, Canada. Son of director Ivan
Reitman and Genevieve (actress), Jason’s career always looked to be heading
towards the film industry. His father, Ivan, directed successful films such as
Ghostbusters and Stripes. Throughout his
younger years, Reitman would often be on-set with his father learning his trade
in the editing rooms and even serving as production assistant. Whilst attending
Skidmore college to major in a pre-med studies degree, Reitman had a sudden
change of heart and opted to move back to Los Angles to complete a degree in
English and creative writing at the University of Southern America.
Reitman started out making short films during his time at USC. Throughout his
20s, instead of accepting offers to make commercial feature films, Reitman
began making his own short films and directing commercials. Although he was
offered the opportunity to direct Dude, Where's my car? on two separate occasions, he
declined to pursue production of his own short films. In 2006, Reitman eventually directed
his first feature film, Thank You For Smoking. The film was a commercial and
critical success. Following the release of the film, it eventually grossed over
$39million and was nominated for two Golden Globes. This success certainly
showed that Reitman was more than capable of directing films to a very high
standard.
Reitman has a particular style when it comes to his films and particularly the opening sequences. He regularly uses high key lighting with bright colours to add to the positive atmosphere created. These two conventions are regularly used due to his films mostly being comedies like Juno. The consistent use of high key lighting and bright colours also gives an insight to the nature of the film for the audience. Furthermore, the bright colours may engage the target demographic (E) for these films more so than low key lighting and mundane colours. In addition, Reitman's opening sequences are well credited worldwide with lots of original elements that many other directors do not use in their opening sequences. For example, Reitman use a clever pan shot in his sequences to give the audience a clear idea of where the film is set. A successful use of this in in Juno when the main character is followed in a pan shot throughout different seasons which gives the audience a clear insight to the narrative. This is a clever technique use by Reitman as it shows that he is understanding of the how the target audiences are engaged in films.
In addition to the more complex camera techniques, Reitman also uses simple camera shots successfully. One example of this is in Juno where there is a frequent use of a high angle shot. The use of this high-angle shot connotes that there is going to be something in the film that the protagonist has no control over. This makes the audience want to carry on watching to see what the disruption of the equilibrium will be. Furthermore, close up shots are also used to emphasise the facial expressions of the main characters. This is extremely important in the opening sequence because it allows the audience to form an impression on the main character.
After Reitman's first success with Thank You For Smoking (based on the novel by Christopher Buckley), he admitted that he would like to work with Buckley again. However, to date, they are yet to reunite with the hope of a success as big as Thank You For Smoking. Having said that, there does seem to be a particular theme with the choice of actors from Reitman. He often uses a female as a protagonist. For example, he uses Ellen Page in Juno as the main character and Lianne Halfon in Young Adult.The narratives for these two films, in particular, are very similar. They both see the protagonist finding themselves with some sort of problem. However, the resolution is always found but perhaps not in the way we imagined as an audience.
Learning comment:
I have learnt from this task that it is very important to engage your audiences immediately from the start of the opening sequences if you are to have any chance of producing a successful film. Furthermore, I have understood that establishing a certain style of film is very important as well. This can easily be done through the use of certain sound effects. In addition, having a clear protagonist from the immediate start may be more engaging than having several characters. Jason Reitman does this well in the majority of his films with having just one protagonist, for example, in Juno and Up in Air.
Learning Comment:
In this task I have identified the various codes and conventions commonly found in film opening sequences. This includes certain fonts connoting certain genres, music that suits the feel and narrative of the film, institutional information being shown; particularly with the institution logo commencing the sequence and director ending it.
The typography is a key aspect of an opening sequence as it gives the audience insight into film genre and also the specific audience it was aimed at. The music is just as important as it can also reveal parts of the narrative and allows the audience to feel certain emotions depending on the choice of music which will make them question the narrative of the film.
Most importantly, I feel that all of the effective opening sequences I saw were done in an creative and original manner that highlighted and hinted at the narrative yet didn't give away too much as to what the film will be about.
37 year-old,
Jason Reitman, is a film director from Quebec, Canada. Son of director Ivan
Reitman and Genevieve (actress), Jason’s career always looked to be heading
towards the film industry. His father, Ivan, directed successful films such as
Ghostbusters and Stripes. Throughout his
younger years, Reitman would often be on-set with his father learning his trade
in the editing rooms and even serving as production assistant. Whilst attending
Skidmore college to major in a pre-med studies degree, Reitman had a sudden
change of heart and opted to move back to Los Angles to complete a degree in
English and creative writing at the University of Southern America. 
