Introduction

I am in group 1 with Pru Carter-Phillips (8128) and Ella Budgett (8120). To view my portfolio evidence please click on the following three labels, on the right, named; A2 Research and Planning; A2 Construction and A2 Evaluation.
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Friday 9 October 2015

Continuity Task 2 (BLK)



My chosen sequence is a 1 minute scene from the 1964 James Bond film, Goldfinger. In this sequence James Bond gets introduced to his personalized gadgets from Q. There are several techniques used to create continuity in this scene.
At the very start of the scene we get a wide mid shot of James Bond and Q. This helps to establish the two main characters for this particular scene and we get a sense of setting as if they are in a car park or garage. Then the camera pans slightly to the right as if it will follow Q but then zooms into Bond which shows us he is the main character. This shot also lets the audience see Bond's expression which could connote his feelings towards Q or the situation.
It then cuts to a wide mid shot of Q as he walks beside the car. The camera follows him which keeps the continuity of the scene not letting the audience loose sight of him. After Q asks "You see this arm here" the camera then cuts to a MS of Bond leaning at the arm in the car. This creates continuity because it means the audience are not confused where the arm is in he following shot and it also tells us we are viewing the arm from Bond's perspective, making the shots flow clearly. Q also taps the arm in the next shot, further showing the audience what they are meant to be looking at. This shot is a CU which makes the audience focus just on the arm and closes out any other distractions.
This is followed by a MS of Bond leaning down to look at the next gadget as we hear Q saying "Now this.." but we do not see a shot of Q because this would make the focus be on Q when the director clearly wants us to focus on Bond mainly. The MS of Bond shows us that the next CU shot of the gadget is from Bond's perspective.
We then get a cut to a MS of Q saying "Don't touch it" which then cuts to Bond with his dialogue which then cuts back to Q with his dialogue. These shots are showing a continuous conversation between the two of them and the audience knows exactly who's speaking in each occasion.
The last two shots feature a shot of Q saying " I never joke about my work 007" which is made to be significant as the next shot is a cut to Bond with no words but an embarrassed expression so the audience is left in suspense.

Thursday 8 October 2015

My Evaluation of AOTT Activity



Our film idea was based around a female who has been kidnapped and locked away for most of her life down a hole, by a disturbed abductor. When she finally manages to escape things aren't how they used to be...the female is on a mission to seek revenge on her kidnapper but things become complicated when she discovers his real identity, the Hang Man.
Our film opening features a number of montage shots giving brief peeks of the setting where the female is trapped. The first shot is of blood dripping down the wall which is followed by a shot of a person being hung with the title of our film to the right-hand side. Shot 3 is of human feet with blood dripping along their toes; The shots go on like this throughout the opening with distinct images which do not tell a story.
Our film opening reveals the title, the main character, the name of the actor who stars as the main character, the two producers and a rough sense of setting.
The titles include disturbing, dark images with an ongoing theme of blood and harm which helps to link the main concept of our film.
We want the audience to have a lot of questions after they've watched our opening. We have purposely left a lot of information out of the opening to make them feel disorientated and unaware of what is to come. However, they should be clear on genre and be spooked out by our first few titles, which should set the scene for the rest of the film. Our opening is ambiguous rather than clear to reflect on the macabre theme.
In our opening sequence we used a variety of shot types with not a lot of connection to each other; this should leave the audience feeling disorientated with the jerky shots to reflect on the horror genre. It also makes it more exciting for the audience because they are seeing action from different perspectives all the time. We inserted our film title in the second shot of our opening sequence because otherwise it would be unclear for the audience on what they were watching. It also helps to set the scene and make them ask questions about how the name links with the rest of our opening sequence and the film to follow. Credits are a legal obligation for the film makers so it is also important that we included these. We gave an establishment of the main character and a rough sense of main setting which I think is vital in an opening sequence, to be able to link with the rest of the film to come.
Although our project sets the scene, gives an establishment of setting and theme, includes the main female character, includes a variety of shots and has the appropriate titles and credits, I think we could have done better. Firstly, I think the title of our film should have been revealed at the end of the opening because it leaves the audience in suspense. I also think our shots could have linked more. For example, shot 5 of a baby head didn't really have much relevance in terms of the rest of our opening sequence and this could be confusing for the audience. The main female character's face could have been shown at the end of our opening sequence as the final image because i think this would create suspense and be scary for the audience, especially if it was shot in a disturbing way. Finally, if we had more time we would have changed the font to look more sleek and professional and also to fit more with the horror genre.



TV Drama Textual Analysis


Empire: Series 2 Episode 4



(Clip: 9:30-13:50)
At the beginning of this clip Lucious Lyon, who is presented to be the dominant, strong and brave anti-hero male character in Empire, is caught in an emotional scene where he is reminiscing over a dead friend. The music played in the background is of slow-paced violins which keep the mood nostalgic and sad; this scene shows an emotional side of him which is often stereotyped as a feminine characteristic and considered weak. This sets up the mood perfectly for the next shot of Cookie Lyon walking into his office to join him. Cookie immediately makes an insult towards Lucious highlighting his weakness-"Don't tell me you gettin' sentimental on me". This makes her seem the dominant character out of the two of them because she feels comfortable enough to criticize him and because of the fact that she barges straight into his office with no warning in an intimate scene for Lucious. Also, the choice of clothing - sunglasses and a smart two-piece suit – makes her character powerful and intimidating. The next shot is a wide establishing shot portraying the wealth their family holds by showing their luxurious setting. Although Cookie then follows with some snappy demands for Lucious, when she has finished speaking she sits down on the sofa and takes her glasses off leaving Lucious at a higher level to her. This succeeds to contradict her power of Lucious and he regains dominance. This connotes the two's competitive, constant battle for power over the other. However, after Lucious says "What's in it for Lucious Lyon?" he then goes to take a seat opposite Cookie on the sofa as they begin to negotiate connoting their equality after-all. In this scene they talk in calm tones with no dominant speaker. When Cookie gets up to leave we see the ex-couple bicker and Lucious calls his ex-girlfriend a "bitch" which highlights his alpha-male character and follows with the historical stereotype that men are worth more than women. However this is broken when Cookie then throws insults back at him and finally turns her back on him and walks away with a final remark showing that she won the quarrel.

The following scene features Lucious' homosexual son, Jamal, taking part in a photoshoot in his and his partner's apartment. Jamal's photographer asks him to play a song on his piano so he does and sings along too. Jamal challenges the typical camp stereotype that is usually used to portray homosexual characters in TV. Jamal is made to look attractive and masculine in the robe he is wearing which reveals his muscular physique and his voice sounds low and manly; not the usual high-pitched, soft stereotyped tone. However, when Jamal beings to sing, his voice changes to be quite feminine and high-pitched. This could connote his more feminine or sensitive traits that he expresses through his lyrics and singing voice. 

Thursday 1 October 2015

Film Opening Analysis and AOTT research (DYM)

 
  1. My chosen film opening sequence has been taken from "Side Effects", a crime-drama thriller.
  2. The story takes place in New York which is not obvious from the title sequence, however from watching the full movie I know this is its setting. I think the whole film is spread over 4-8 months as Emily, the main female character, has to go through several clinical trials which usually carry over 2-3 months at a time. 
  3. This title sequence consists of a series of shots, mainly pans and zooms, of different medical equipment and medication. Most of the shots are in black and white. On the shots, there is text overlaying the images with production information such as main characters and producers. The order in which the shots are placed is not significant to the story telling because the title sequence does not begin to tell the story; it only sets the atmosphere and the rest is up to the audience to decide. 
  4. The events in Side Effects' title sequence are unconnected and therefore distinct. No specific events occur in the sequence because it only contains a series of shots which are unrelated...apart from the fact they are medicinally themed. 
  5. No characters are physically introduced in this opening sequence. However, the names of some of the main actors are introduced on-screen in the form of credits. For example, Jude Law.
  6. As I said previously, most of the shots are in black and white; I think this helps to address the obvious medical theme because it feels plain, monotone and depressing, just like a hospital. The second shot features a birds-eye-view CU of a lid for some pills. On the lid is written "health advice?". This could be an indication of the therapy sessions to come in the film and the relationships between patients and doctors in Side Effects. The repeated shots of different types of pills further questions the audience why medication is so significant to the story telling, as it appears in both the title and opening sequence. I think a lot of the story is withheld in this title sequence but even in doing this they could be hinting more about the film; We are left confused and still wanting answers by the end which is similar to the film as it follows a very unexpected twist at the end which the therapist has to figure out. Any obvious information is withheld to keep suspense with the audience so they stay interested in what's to come. Although, the pills spilling at the end of the sequence juxtaposing with the pills ordered in the previous shot could be a big clue to the story ahead. Perhaps this is done to symbolise destruction; so maybe a drug related mishap. 
  7. I think the audience needs to see the appearance of the main characters at the start of the film to be able to fully engage in the plot. There also could be an establishment of setting. For example, a character walking down a busy New York street. I think the audience needs to know a bit about the lives of the main characters so they can get some understanding of how things are going to change or stay the same. However, in saying this, I'm sure information is purposely withheld in this opening and could contribute to the way the story is told effectively because of this. 
AOTT Research

Zombieland(2009)

The Forbidden Room(2015)


The Zombieland and The Forbidden Room film opening sequences contrast aesthetically to create the atmosphere for two opposite genres. Zombieland is filmed in vibrant colour and is high-key lit with all but one of the shots set in the daytime; this makes it clear to the audience it is a light-hearted film, perhaps a comedy (despite the goriness!). Whereas The Forbidden Room is made up of a series of early title designed shots which seem to shudder and glitch making the audience feel as if they are in an old-fashioned movie theatre watching something from a tape rolling. The movement of each title image also creates an eery atmosphere reflecting on the horror genre of the film. Zombieland has a clear establishment of setting. From the shot 10 seconds in of the American flag, we know it's set in the United States which is later confirmed with the voice over's American accent. Both sequences include background music which helps to set the atmosphere needed in each film. However, only Zombieland uses a voice-over on top of this which keeps the mood informal and engaging unlike The Forbidden Room's opening sequence which only uses music for effect keeping the atmosphere scary and the audience on edge. Only Zombieland include some CGI shots. For example, the shot of a burning planet. Guy Madden decided against using too contemporary film making techniques in The Forbidden Room because he wanted to mimic film structure of much earlier times.  Also, Zombieland features many different settings which would have had to of been individually set up for each shot, and advanced make-up on actors which would have needed make-up artists and taken extra time. Overall, the feeling the audience receives after watching each opening sequence is very different; Zombieland leaves you ready to watch a comedy and intrigued to find out who's speaking on the voiceover and why he knows so much about how to handle a Zombie apocalypse! Whereas The Forbidden Room leaves you sitting at the edge of your chair waiting to jump at he twisted, creepy scenes to come..also leaving you intrigued about why the room (whatever this room is) is forbidden.