Film
Film update
We have made much progress with our film two weeks ago we finished our screenplay with many ideas we could do. As we were making the screen play we were thinking of different camera shots we could do with the different color schemes we could use. As we were nearing the end of the screen play we decided that we would have a horrory/mystery film and have a setting with low lighting in a shed. We were still stuck without a name for the character we spent about 20 min trying to figure out a good name to use for our character. After that me and my group met at my house to set up our film. We had to clean out a shed which took about an hour or two and we had to print pictures and add our props in the shed.
Mise-en Scene Research
This shot is from the new series Halo and in this shot it gives the sense that there is going to be a future battle or fight. In this shot we see the character Kia looking over hundreds or thousands of soldiers with military machinery in behind them. The setting of this shot looks to be a futuristic shot that's set years in the future due to the advanced armor they have and by the advanced vehicles in the background. The color scheme of this shot gives off a light and dark theme from the dark could covering the skies and how the sun breaks through the cloud to light the army on the ground. Mise-en Scene is important to every movie. It provides the tone and theme of the movies and it gives the audience a sense of what's to come next. This shot is hinted towards a battle in the future .
This second shot is from the movie Dead Ringers and in this shot we see what looks to be a meeting is a dark room. Mise-en scene is also represented by props and lighting and what people are wearing. This shot we see 4 people in a dark room all dressed up formal. The table looks to be set up nicely and well done with a jug and 4 cups for them. There also looks to be table decor. The mise-en Scene of this shot shows that this a important meeting with the low lighting and the dark room gives off a sense of a secret meeting
In the final shot I will be looking at is from There will be blood and in this shot we see a low over the shoulder shot. This shot shows the power that the person with the mustache and hat shows. The Mise-en scene of this shot shows the camera placement and the lighting of the sky with the power them man shows with the other on the ground with his hand up. This shot shows a sense of action or fighting these shots are used to show the power presented and that the man stands on business. This type of shot is used in many movies to show the dominance or power that someone has that they use to scare or threaten others.
Group Screen play
Story Board Ideas
This week in our media studies class me and my group have been working on drawing our storyboards for our project film. Each of us decided to draw 3 drawings to capture different shots. My first drawing was the view of a cop car from behind heading somewhere. My second drawing is a broken window with glass shards outside that show that whatever happened, happened from inside the house. My third drawing shows a knife on the ground that has blood on it with a pool of blood next to it implying there is a victim next to the knife on the ground.
Initial Film Ideas
Our initial film ideas, Me and my group gained inspiration and was inspired from different films that we watched. As we watched these films we gained ideas from the color themes, sounds, imagery, and film shots. This will help us create the first 2 minutes of our film.
There are many shots we plan on wanting to include to our film some of these shots are,
Rear view mirror shot
Close- up shots
Fast- paced transitions/ flashy shots
Over the Shoulder shot
Establishing shot
There are also many focus points that we plan to focus that will gives us a sense of what we could work on and do for our film and these are,
Cop car
Flashing lights
Broken mirror/glass
Corkboard
Newspapers/missing poster
Headshots
Stalker/ Assassin
Lighting and sound is one of the important key features that our group is looking into to make our film the way we want it to be, Dark and scary these include,
Dark outside
High Contrast
Low saturation
Using light to highlight main points of focus
Dark color palettes
Heartbeat
Ticking Clock
The last bit that we need to focus on the the color scheme of our film and shot references that we could use,
Genre Research
Recently, our class has been working on the planning of our final movie introduction for our Cambridge AICE Exam. Our group decided to work with a Physiological Thriller and Crime genre in our film . This task is not the planning of the actual film but to find other films to inspire our final product. As we watch clips of some movies we have to keep in mind of the editing, timing, music, diegetic sound, and imagery. All this helps to reveal the plot to our movie.
how many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
All of the films we watched had about between 22-30 opening credits, while Se7en went over the line with about 35 opening credits
what images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
Common items that were prioritized in these opening scenes were memorabilia such as family portraits, old childhood toys, etc. There was also minimal movement, a lot of the movement we saw was made with a still camera looking at movement from the characters.
what connotations do the images carry?
Foreshadowing was used to carry emotions with the items. Either they would come back and be a little part of the story line, or they are the whole plot. Many things like family heirlooms or family stuff carry emotions.
how is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
Genre plays a big role in the any film. Research has shown that the majority of people remember the very beginning and the very end of movies. So introducing a plot line that keeps audiences interested and engaged to continue watching.
how does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
The film establishes enigma by keeping the audience of the film in their seat. So adding a sense of mystery for your audience to grasp onto is one of the best ways to keep viewers engaged which can set the perfect scene for the film.
what strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
In the film intros we watched, dimmed lighting or limited view. We naturally want to know more, so what better way to pull people in by then not letting them know all the details from the get go.
how has technology been used effectively?
Camera shots were strategically place and the shot transitions used you didnt notice they are happening so that you are more focused on the suspense on scene. Now, in some cases, having fast paced and quick shots is a good thing to pull people in because it keeps their attention span going by constantly giving them something new to focus on.
Film Score Reflection
In the mini-film that I have made we have a girl who was sitting at a desk working on her computer who notices someone across from her. She then gets up and walks towards the person. When she made it to the person we noticed it was a boy and she closed his computer with the intent to catch his attention. With the addition of a two different soundtracks I was able to make the same mini-film have two different meanings
(Left Video)The first sound track I used was more of a action soundtrack making it seem like when the girl gets to the boy something intense is about to happen
(Right video)The second sound track I used is closely related to a romantic sound that goes up until she closes the boys laptop
My goal in this Mini-film was to have a romantic setting and a intense setting and with the addition of the soundtracks I was able to change the way will turn out or seem. My feelings about the final product was that I could have changed some of the transitions to fit better and make the mini-film more smoothly. I did like the shots I did to create the film everything was smooth and well thought out.
One thing I learned from Cayden, Allison, and Emma was that they used different filters to make their mini-films more dramatic. Adding filters to my future mini-films is something I will add in. Another thing I will incorporate into my future mini-films is better transitions to make my mini-film more smooth.
Film Score: Story Board
A Formulaic Christmas
When Holly arrives at home she meets Pete who has been working with her father making handmade nutcrackers. Holly doesn’t remember Pete but Pete remembers her. She then finds out that her fathers business is about to go out of business. Holly has been closed off and distant to people but around the 37 minute mark her mood changes as she spends more time at home and around pete. Pete's feelings towards holly are clear that he likes her but Holly is unsure. We are then introduced to a new character Shady Ben who is a Financial advisor form the city with good looks. When Holly tells him about the problem of Santaville Ben claims that he knows a way to help out. Ben later offers Holly's dad a contract that will help Santaville.
After some arguing Holly father finally signs the contract and celebrates due to Santaville being saved. Holly and Ben then go out on a date when Ben gets a phone call and steps outside where Holly overhears that the whole thing was a set up to take Santaville away from her father. Holly returns home to tell her family and Pete that it was all a setup and that she was sorry. They all get together to create a plan to raise $50k. After a lot of false hope Earl somehow manages to sell one of Pete's Nutcrackers for $500 where they realized that the nutcrackers were the key to solving the problem.
In the end they are just short of $50k and when they think they lost Holly's Boss shows up and offers to help pay if Pete would work for them to make nutcrackers. Holly boss then pays off the remaining bit left and Santaville was saved. Holly and Pete both ended up staying in their hometown where they finally get together
There is one question left to be asked. Is this formula offensive? It does not seem that Hallmark movies go out of their way to make the formula offensive but, their movies do seem to represent some groups of people. The formula is shown with the characters and story line of whats going on. In hallmark films like Moonlight and Mistletoe we see scenarios like plot twists, potential lovers, false lovers or a conflict. Even tho the characters may not notice these things the audience watch is able to predict whats to come. In the end all of these were overcame to give the Hallmark special of a happy ending.
Examples of this in Moonlight and Mistletoe is Holly and Pete having some sort of love towards each other. Also it is shown when Ben is trying to take Santaville and falsely love holly to try and get the house and Santaville. A plot twist that is shown is when holly boss appears out of nowhere to pay off the remaining debt and gives Pete a real job.
Music Video
Blog Three
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
As we continue to study the introduction of film we looked into Joe Wright's film Pride and Prejudice. We came to the conclusion that the opening scene of any movie is one of the most important pieces of a film. The opening scene of pride and prejudice sets the stage of the movie while introducing the Bennett family and the life they live.
The opening scene starts off with a view of the woods and birds chirping in the background with big white titles slowly fading in and out. The diegetic sound track of a piano starts to play as the sun rises over the trees in the background and the title fades in as you start to see the shine of the sun. After the title of the movie fades away, the camera shot switches to Lizzy walking while reading her book in a field with the sun behind her giving off a white glow around her body. The director chose to focus on this on this area because present a innocence of the protagonist
As we follow Lizzy we are introduced to the mise-en-scene, costumes and mood of the scene. The mise-en-scene of the opening scene we see her walking towards her estate crossing a little pond that has geese while in the background we see cows running. In the next shot we also see older style clothes hanging on lines showing that it is set in the early 1800s. As Lizzy is walking through the clothes the camera stops and we see an open door with a girl playing the piano. This is where we lose focus of the main character and is introduced to the scenery of the house and other characters. As we are being introduced to the inside of the house we see Jane walk out of a room with a dog as two girls run down the stairs in front of her and throw a hat on the table. As you take a closer look at the table and objects around the house is very messy with all their doors open. As the camera continues to pan right we see the dog again running outside of the house with a young man feeding ducks while Lizzy comes back into frame coming around the corner of the house. As the camera focuses on Lizzy again we get an over the shoulder shot of Lizzy looking at her Father and Mother arguing through a window. The opening scene ends with Lizzy walking inside though one door while the camera follows her through another door at the same time.
How do Directors define genre in the first few minutes of a film? This week in Media Studies, we set out to answer that question by viewing the opening scenes of Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and Forrest Gump (1994). Each of these We viewed each of these film openings several times and through several lenses to understand how genre was conveyed. For each viewing, we focused on camera work, editing, sound, and mise-en-scene.
Blog One
Blog Two
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Our exploration into genre began with Top Gun: Maverick (2022). The first half the opening scene starts off with intense, dramatic and ominous overtones as the titles in white capital letters fade in and out. We are then given a military brief of the history of the Top Gun program before revealing the title of the movie. The scene then fades into the crew of the aircraft carrier that are preparing the fighter jets for take off while continuing the intense and ominous music. The Mise-en-scene takes place at dawn on an aircraft carrier with high contrast. While the crew is preparing for the fighter jets to take off the pace of the music and shots of the film begins to increase. As soon as the fighter jet takes off the music transitions into the song Danger Zone and with that the shots of the film begin to increase more giving you more rapid shots. When Danger Zone started to play the tone of the film changed into a more exciting and intense one. The Director utilizes the burrage of shots to capture the build-up of the take off scene of the fighter jet. Even after the take off scene the rapid shots continue to increase. Throughout the opening scene of the film it creates the genre leading into a action movie
Forrest Gump (1994)
To end our exploration into genre we watched the opening scene of the film Forrest Gump (1994). The scene started off with a feather falling from the sky swaying back and forth across the camera shot while big white letters faded in and out of. As we follow this feather to the ground there is a subtle and calm piano track that is being played. As the feather gets closer to the street you are able to hear the sound of the cars on the street. Once the feather crosses the street we are met with a pair of dirty beat up shoes in front of a bench where the feather will gently land on. Once the feather lands we see the person pick up the feather who is revealed to be Forest Gump.
The soft calm sound track continues until Forrest Gump puts the feather in his briefcase which reveals everything he has owned since he was a kid. This camera shot was a continuous shot that lasted until we got our introduction of Forest Gump. The Mise-en-scene of this opening scene was set in a small southern town. The soft calm soundtrack begins to slowly fade out with the beginning of the second shot as a bus pulls up revealing the year of the scene on an advertisement which was 1981. As the bus leaves we begin to hear everything happening in the surrounding area like cars and distant birds crowing. After the bus has left, an African American girl walks in from the left of the shot and takes a seat on the other side of the bench that Forrest Gump is seated at. This shot slowly gets closer and closer to where they are seated at. She then pulls out a book and starts to read. Forrest Gump notices her and tries to make conversation with her. Forrest Gump starts the conversation by telling her his name and asking her if she wanted chocolate. When declined Forrest talks in soft spoken voice about how you'll never know what you'll get when eating chocolate out of a box. Saying life is like a box of chocolates. He then points at her shoes comparing hers to his talking about how he would like a new pair and how comfortable they must be to walk in for her. He then starts to try and remember his first pair of shoes he has ever got as the camera focuses on his face as he tries to remember. Throughout the opening scene of the movie it created the sense of the movie being led into a drama and soft movie.