Why would the director choose to use special effects?
I think that the director has done this so that the audience is more immersed in the film, and so that the film can provide a higher form of escapism for them. Also the fact that the action involving the special effect would not be possible without it. Using special effects also increases the films production value and makes the films quality higher.
How does it denote genre?
The special effects used in this scene could signify the genre of the movie by using some iconography of sci-fi movies (aliens, space drafts, abduction etc.) so that the audience can easily identify the genre of the film.
What effect does it have on the audience?
The audience is more immersed in the story, which means that they are more involved in the plot of the film, which provides more escapism for the audience and makes the movie more enjoyable as the audience can escape from the troubles of the real world.
Are the special effects conventional for the genre?
The special effects used are very conventional for the genre of the film, as in sci-fi films, the theme of aliens and abduction is very often featured and is regularly used in many films of this genre. These type of special effects (CGI, SFX) are also commonly used in the sci-fi genre because they allow the director to produce a more believable product.
Star Trek (2009)
Why would the director choose to use special effects?
The director could have chosen to use special effects in the film to provide a level of escapism for the audience, as the more immersive and believable a movie is the more an audience is likely to be immersed in the movie and make what happens in the film more believable, which will mean that the viewers are more likely to care about the characters and the movie in general.
How does it denote genre?
This movie also shows some iconography of the sci-fi genre as special effects are used to make the spacecraft and the planet in the background of this scene, both of which are conventions of the sci-fi genre, as aliens, space and space craft are regularly featured in science fiction films.
What effect does it have on the audience?
The use of special effects means that the audience feels more involved in the movie, which provides more escapism and allows the viewers to leave reality while the film is playing and
Are the special effects conventional for the genre?
These special effects are very common to the genre of the film as CGI and SFX make it easier for the production team to edit in the special effects over the footage that has been captured.
The class was asked to brainstorm the functions of lighting in an opening scene, and to think about the issues that could occur while filming. The issues that the class talked about were about continuity errors regarding filming (cutting from light to dark surroundings in the same scene) and how a filming schedule would need to be focused around the preferred lighting in the scene. Our teacher has also informed the class that the school will be buying aYongnuo YN300 II LED Video Light to help us when filming, as this light will create a more natural effect while also brightening the camera shots.
Equipment that can be used to improve sound quality are a rode mic pro and a rode 'dead cat'. Advice that was given to the class included choosing the music early so that the tone of the opening scene can be decided and using the music to create contrasts to influence the audiences emotions. The class was also introduced to the basic functions of garage band and i-movie.
The class has been asked to analyse 4 opening titles from movies of the same genre as the opening scene we hope to create.
Terminator (1984):
The colour of the titles are very futuristic and could suggest to the audience that the movie takes place in the future. The font of the opening titles is also very futuristic, and also very conventional to the adventure genre, as titles in this genre usually take up most of the screen and are seen in front of a dark screen so that the audiences attention is drawn to the title. The title suggests that that the movie is about someone on a mission to kill someone/thing, as terminate can also mean to kill. The effect on the audience is that they are engaged in the movie as the title is bright and takes up most of the screen, this would also mean that the viewers are also immersed in the movie as the titles are heard to ignore. I don't think that the titles of my opening titles will have a similar style as my scene will not be set in the future, however I think that I will make my titles fill the entire screen, as this catches the audiences attention and makes them pay attention to the film.
Star Wars (1977):
The colour of the titles is a bright yellow to stand out from the black background, it could also be to grab the audiences attention when it appears onscreen. The font of these titles is very conventional to the adventure genre as it takes up most of the screen and is shown in front of a dark background. The title suggests that a war is taking place and that the movie is set in another galaxy, the titles of this movie suggests that this movie is also very important, as the large title and bright colour makes people notice the titles. These titles grab the audiences attention and introduce the film boldly, which would make a lot of viewers want to keep watching the film. I would like my titles to fill the screen, however I don't think that I will choose such a bright colour for my titles as I would like them to be more realistic
Harry Potter and the philosophers stone (2001):
The colour of the titles suggests that the film is extremely important and could also tell the audience that the film needs to be watched as it is very important. The font for these titles is quite unconventional, as it incorporates a lightning bolt into the title, however the font is relevant to the story and setting of the film. The titles tell the audience who the film is about and some context into the plot of the film. The effect of the title is that it draws the audiences attention to the screen, this is because of the colour being gold and because of the unusual and iconic font. I would like to include a similar colour in my titles as it draw the audiences attention, although I think that the font would be hard to recreate and wouldn't fit into the setting of my scene.
Iron man (2009):
The colour of the titles could suggest to the audience that the movie they are about to watch is very important and needs to be watched immediately, the gold colour could also be foreshadowing of the colour of iron mans suit, which is red and gold. This font is very conventional as it is not only in front of a dark background and taking up the entire screen, it is also a very large font and in all capitals, which could have been done to ensure that the audiences attention is focused on the title. The titles suggest that this film is based on a pre-existing marvel comic series, and could also provide the audience with some information about the main character. The audience could be intrigued by the opening titles of this film, as they 'demand' to be acknowledged and read as they cover most of the screen. I would like to include this colour in my opening titles as it is hard for viewers to ignore, although I don't think I would use this font, as it is not very mysterious.
The class has been asked to research production and distribution companies, and to investigate a company that produces similar films to the one we hope to produce.
What do production companies do?:
A production company provides the physical basis for works in performing arts, film, television, radio, and video. They are also in charge of the budget, casting and other recruitment (directors, cameramen etc.) for a movie. Production companies are also in charge of making the film a success or a failure.
What do distribution companies do?:
A distribution company is an individual or organisation who will represent films at festivals around the world and who will try to sell it to television, airlines and other platforms that show films. The main goal of a distribution company is to get films seen by the public, distribution companies also handle the marketing and production of films for home viewing (DVD, Download, Television etc). Often bigger films have different distributors representing them in different countries and different distributors handling the home-viewing production.
Paramount pictures:
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film studio and television production company distributor, ranked as one of the "Big Six" film studios of Hollywood. Paramount has produced films like The Godfather, Sleepy Hollow, Interstellar and Star Trek. Paramount pictures are extremely versatile and produce many different genres of films, including crime dramas, action adventure, sci-fi, and children's cartoons. Paramounts budget for their films is usually high, with state of the art props, sound, costume, and more recently special effects and CGI.
Warner Bros. entertainment:
The warner bros. company is an American entertainment company based in Burbank California, the company produces film, television and music and is a major film studio. The Warner bros. company is also distributes a wide variety of film genres, including action/ adventure films like Pacific Rim, and The Dark Knight Rises, comedies (We're The Millers, Get Hard), and family entertainment such as The Lego Movie, Hugo and Despicable Me. Warner Bros. entertainment is known to distribute films at places like the Cannes film festival, Burbank international film festival and Toronto film festival.
The class has been asked to analyse two opening scenes of films of the same genre, as I have picked the adventure genre, I have decided to choose Indiana Jones and Mad Max.
Setting (comparison):
The setting of the two openings are very different; Indiana Jones is set in the south American jungles in the 1930's, whereas Mad Max is set in a future desert wasteland.
I think that Indiana Jones is set in the past and a jungle because this is a more conventional setting for the genre of the film, and the director could have wanted the film to be recognised as an adventure film easily.
Mad Max could be set in a wasteland in the future because the director wanted to be unconventional and wanted to set the movie apart from other adventure films and to show the audience something new that hasn't been done before.
Mise en scene (Mad Max):
The use of negative space in the introductory scene is used to show the audience how vast the desert is and how small and lonely the protagonist is compared to the force that is hunting him.
The 'war boy' costumes could also be used to show the audience that they are the antagonists of the film, as they look unnatural and skull like, which would make the audience feel uneasy.
Titling (Indiana Jones):
In the opening scene the audience is shown the production and distribution company, director, the title, main actors, producers, editors, and main writers. The director could have included so many opening titles because the opening scenes only show a team of people exploring a jungle, and wanted the main focus to be on the titles.
The director could have also wanted to show the main actors' names to gain the audience's interest as they could be familiar with some of the actors.
I think that the director chose to put the titles in white so that they would stand out from the black silhouettes of the characters that appear onscreen while the titles appear. The positioning of the title of the film could also help it to stand out as it is more likely to catch the audiences eye in the middle of the screen than at the bottom. The font of the titles can be used to give the audience a sense of setting and the time period the film is set in as the font looks old-fashioned.
Introduction of protagonist/antagonist (comparison):
In Indiana Jones the protagonist is introduced as a black shadow and their face is only shown later on in the scene, this could have been done by the director of the movie to create more suspense in the opening scenes as the audience is more likely to wonder who the protagonist is.
Similarly in Mad Max the protagonist also starts off with his back to the camera, however the audience gets to see his face quickly, although his face is only partially shown, which builds the tension in the scene.
The antagonists are shown to be chasing Max and seem to be catching up to him, the use of sound also helps to show to the audience that the characters are antagonists as the sound of engines happens suddenly and after a long pause, this would help to create a sense of panic in audience.
Editing (Indiana Jones):
The use of close up shots at the beginning of the scene adds mystery to the characters when they are first shown, as the audience cant see their faces, only the outline of their shadows, this could make the audience more intrigued about who the characters are and why they are important.
Tracking shots are also regularly used in the opening scene, this could be to show the audience how far the team is walking and to also make them more interested in the story and what the protagonists are hoping to find.
The opening scene is also edited so that the audience never sees the protagonists face until 3 minutes in, when he disarms a member of the team who tries to shoot him, this could be to create more tension and mystery as the audience wants to know who is leading the team of explorers.
Sound (Mad Max):
The first three minutes of the scene don't include any music, which only starts when Max gets captured. This could have been done so that tension is built up in the opening three minutes, the introduction of music at a certain point could also hint to the audience that something important is about to happen.
The musics volume increases as Max tries to escape, this creates a more feeling in the scene, which also makes the audience feel uneasy and more engaged in what is happening on screen as they want to know if Max will escape.
However the music stops again as Max almost falls down the abrupt cliff behind a door,and starts again as he jumps onto a hook nearby. I think this is done because it helps to create suspense in the scene and in the audience as they could be wondering if Max will make it to freedom.
Non-diagetic sound is not often used in the opening scenes, only music and a voice over are edited over the footage, I think the director could have done this to create a more realistic feeling in the scenes and to make it more believable for the audience.
Composition/ Camera shots (Indiana Jones):
This opening scene often uses close up and mid shots. I think this has been done because the director wants the audience to notice that the characters on screen are important to the story, and also make the audience feel more connected to the characters, as these shots allow the audience to see more emotion on the characters faces.
Close ups also help the audience to find out details about the protagonist, whose face isn't shown until later in the scene, doing this could help to create suspense within the audience as people could try to figure out who the protagonist is.
The shot composition of the opening scene uses the rule of three as the scenes can be split into three sections that have something in it. The director could do this so that the audience focuses on something specific.
Colour tone (Mad Max):
The colour tone that is used in the opening scene is very unconventional, usually in adventure films the colours that are used are either greens (as films are normally set in jungles/ forests) or quite dark colours, however as Mad Max is set in a desert the colour scheme of the film are very bright. I think that the director has done this to coincide with the setting of the film and to interest the audience.
Iconography(Mad Max):
This film includes conventional iconography of adventure films, such as car chases, explosions, fire and skulls. The director could have done this so that the film can be easily recognised as an action/ adventure film and so that people know what they will see when they buy the tickets for the film.
Shot sequence (Indiana Jones):
In the opening scenes the sequence of the shots shows how far the team of travellers have journeyed to get to their objective, this would make the audience curious about what will happen next as they would want to know why the team have walked through the jungle in South America.
The sequence of the shots also shows the protagonist to be leader of the team, the director did this so that the audience can see that he is an important figure and want to learn more about him.
We have been asked to pick a film that is of the same genre we are exploring for our coursework and to consider if it aligns with Torodv's narrative theory. I have chosen to examine the adventure genre, therefore I have chosen to analyse The Hunger Games. Torodov's theory suggests that most stories follow a similar pattern (equilibrium, disruption, conflict, climax or confrontation, and resolution).
Equilibrium:
At the beginning of the film, the story starts at a partial equilibrium, however it is 'reaping day' therefore the beginning is also quite tense.
Disruption:
The tension increases as the protagonist volunteers for her sister to fight in the Hunger Games.
Conflict:
The drama builds as the tournament begins. Climax:
The movie reaches its peak as the protagonists decide to defy the government and do not kill each other. Equilibrium:
The protagonists both survive and a state of equilibrium is restored, however the president seems to have a plan to stop the protagonists from starting a rebellion.
In conclusion, I think that The Hunger Games does follow Torodov's theory, but is changed at the end as it is the first part of a trilogy, which means the ending is still quite tense.
This will help me with my production as I know that I will need to set the characters and storyline up, but keep the scenes quite tense.
The class was asked to consider different camera shots and analyse why they could have been used. The class watched this link as a reference.
I have learnt about different types of carmera angles and the different effects that they can have of the audience (e.g. close up creates drama as the viewers can see emotions on a characters face.)
