Questionnaire results

We made sure that we asked the same amount of males and females so that our results where not gender biased. We also made sure that we asked the same amount of each age group to get a range of results.

When we collected in the questionnaires we found that mystery and fantasy where the most popular genres of film. As we still haven't decided on our final idea and what genre it will be this data will help us as now we know what people are more interested in.

We also put the data into a graph to show us how the different genres were popular with different genders. For example both horror and romance where voted for twice, however horror was only put down by males and romance was only put down by females.



Some other results from our questionnaire were:

What interests you/would interest you in opening titles of a film?

“Something that grabs your attention and makes you want to keep watching”
“It has to be interesting and be able to keep me interested”
“Some story, action and some decent plot point”
“Originality – catch my interest”
“Action”
“Videos & Pics beside it”
“Suspense”
“Suspense being build”
“How they present it”
“Flash backs of the main protagonist getting into the present and where the story takes he/she”
“An opening with a promising set up (e.g. action)”
“Leaves the audience (me) guessing, cliff hanger, intriguing “
“Suspense”
“A compressed version of what makes the film special”

Audience research: Questionnaire

We created a questionnaire to help us find out more about what types of films people liked and how to make an opening interesting. We handed the questionnaire to people around school and we also took some away from school so we has a range of results, we will then collect all the data to produce charts showing the answers.

This is a copy of our questionnaire:

The different roles involved in the production of a film

There are many different roles involved when making a film these are:

• Director: A director has creative control over the project from the moment they come on board until the project comes to an end and is completed
• Assistant director: The assistant director runs the set according to the needs of the director.
• Producer: This role is hard to define as there are many different aspects to being a producer however generally the producer bring together and approve the production team and try to create an in environment where the cast and crew can be creative and focused.
• Production manager: organises everyone and everything on set.
• Production co-ordinator:  The person who works under the production manager.
• Line Producer: The line producers role is to make sure that the film is ready on time and on budget.
• Director of photography: The director of photography is in charge of how the film is lit and shot.
• Production designer/Art director:  They are in charge of the production design and help to create the style of the set.
• Editor: The person who cuts the film together.
• Gaffer: The chief lighting technician.
• Sound recordist: Someone who is in charge of everything to do with recording sound.
• Costume designer: The person who designs, buys and manages all the costumes used in the film.
• Hair and makeup designer: The person who designs and does the actors/actresses hair and make-up.
• Storyboard artist: The storyboard artist works with the director  to create a  shot by shot storyboard of the film to be filmed.
• Cast: The actors and actresses hired to play characters in the film

Additional crew members

• 2nd assistant manager: Helps the 1st assistant manager. Usually helps co-ordinating actors and actresses to and from set.
• 3rd assistant manager: Helps the 1st assistant manager, always on set and often co-ordinates the runners.
• Continuity/script supervisor: Someone who makes sure everything seen on camera is constant from shot to shot.
• Location manager: The person who finds and secures the perfect locations.
• Focus puller: Someone who is in charge of focussing the camera.
• Clapper manager: Someone who loads the camera and records each shot.
• Grip: Someone who looks after all the equipment made for supporting and moving the camera while shooting.
• Boom operator: The person who holds the boom, ensuring the microphone is as close as possible to the actors/actresses without actually getting in the shot
• Stills Photographer : The person who takes still images of actors and crew for publicity reasons
• Assistants and Runners : Needed in every department - the more hands the better

Research and brainstorming ideas

I spent last weeks lessons researching the opening titles of films and looking at previous media students work to help me come up with the ideas for my own piece.

 Some of the ideas I have come up with are:

• Its based around one girl who is lonely and feels invisible. It would show her doing basic things but people keep walking past her, almost walking into her, basically treating her like she doesn't exist. voice over with girl talking about what its like to feel invisible. Towards the end another girl starts to notice her . Finally at the end she is sitting alone reading a book, the other girl comes up to her and says "Hi, you're ____ right?"shows them having a conversation as the camera fades out and the title of the film appears. The rest of the film if we were to do it would have been about their friendship.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

• Shows girl hanging out with friends and then she leaves to go home, as shes walking home there is a accident of some kind, maybe a car crash. the girl wakes up at home or in a hospital and stands up and looks in the mirror and sees someone that is not her. Turns out someone else had been in an accident as well, her brain was put into that other persons body. The rest of the film is we were to do it would have been about how she copes living someone elses life.

My partners idea was:

• My idea for a opening film is a horror themed.The opening would start with a person's POV walking around the streets at night, while light stop to work and a child appears not far away in front of that person with its back facing the person. The person asks "Hey sweetie, are you lost? Where are your parents?" and comes toward the child but then the child turns around and screams, the person trips on the floor and tries to crawl back but all you can see is a blood spraying on the floor and buildings and a big shadow passing by. To develop it further I would need to work on the details of characters and as it is the horror genre - make up and clothing will play a huge role in it however to make it original I should try going further then how people look in stereotypical horror movies.​

Titles research

300 title sequence 

The titles for 300 are very relevant to the film in the way that they look and give a good idea as to how the film is going to go. The titles are red and bold to stand out but they are also styled to look like blood which is more clearly seen in the middle image on the left. All of the titles appear out of blood, whenever someone is injured their blood makes the title. From these titles you could infur that this film is going to have a lot of violence, death and blood.

Iron Man title sequence.

The titles for Iron Man and red and stand out but they also look quite futuristic and robotic. The red of the titles stands out over the blues, greens and black used in the background and even though the background is quite dark the small use of bright colours is used to catch the audiences attention. From these titles you could infer that this film is going to focus a lot around robots, technology and weapons.

Film production companies

There are two types of film production companies these are Major Hollywood companies and Independent companies.

An example of a Major Hollywood film production company is Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers are widely known and well funded film production company, they have produced films such as the Harry Potter series and the Dark Knight trilogy and in the future they will bring out upcoming films such as the Batman vs Superman film. Warner Brothers hire famous directors to help make their films amazings and to get as far as possible in the box office sellings. Warner brothers also make short films that may not make it onto the big screen so they are released straight to DVD and Blu Ray, some of these short films include DC animated series and Scoobydoo. As long as their product and merchandise is selling they will keep on producing more and make more money.

An example of an Independent film production company is Film4. Film4 makes low budget films such as the Inbetweeners and 40 year old virgin, low budget film production companies such as Film4 usually collaborate with other companies so that they all pitch in to make the film better or to seek the help of a funder such as the UK lottery fund. The UK lottery fund has helped make films such as Street Dance and Pudsey the movie. Low budget companies also have partners such as Pepsi or Coca Cola to help fund the films.

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)

About the BBFC:

The BBFC is an independent media content regulator that was established in 1912  by the film industry, they have exercised responsibilities over cinema for over 90 years. They are self-financing and  are not set up to make a profit, their fees are only adjusted to cover the costs needed to be able to run. The BBFC are a trusted guide to media content. They protect the public, in particular children from viewing content that might not be suitable for them for many reasons, this is why certificate ratings are shown on films.

BBFC certificates:

U rating

U: universal - this is suitable for all. Although it is impossible to predict what could upset a certain child a U rated film is aimed at and should be suitable for audience aged four and over. These films will only use mild bad language such as a character might say 'damn'. Characters in these film may be shown kissing or cuddling but their will be no focus on sexual behaviour or language. Finally their may be very mild violence in these films and their could be points where the characters are placed in danger, however any  threats or moments of emotional stress will be resolved quickly and the outcome will always be reassuring.

PG rating

PG stands for Parental Guidance, these films will not contain any themes that are unsuitable for a child to watch. PG films are suitable for general viewings however parents should consider that some scenes may be unsuitable for young children and then decide if they wish for their child to watch the film. There could be some bad language used in a PG film such as a character might say 's***' or 'son of a b***h' but the context and delivery are always important. Sex references in PG films are very unlikely  and if there are any they are undetailed and infrequent. Any violence in the films would be very mild, you may see some blood but you would not see how the injury was inflected.

12 and 12a rating

12 and 12a rating films are suitable for an audience aged 12 or above, no one younger than 12 can view these films unless they are accompanied by an adult who believe that the film is suitable for that child. Any adult who is planning on a child that is under the age of 12 to a 12a film should check
the BBFC insight for the particular film in advance.strong language may be used in a 12 or 12a film
for example a character might use the word 'f**k' and there may be moderate language such as a character saying the word 'b***h' or 't**t'. 12 and 12a films may briefly contain sex and there could be nudity although nudity in a sexual context will only be brief and discreet. Any violence in a 12 or 12a film should not go into detail however their may be some gory moments if they are justified by their context. 

15 rating

No one under the aged of 15 can view a 15 rated film at the cinema or by buying/renting . Some things that may be in a 15 rated film are:

• Strong violence
• Frequently used strong language such as 'f**k'
• Portrayals of sexual activity
• Strong verbal references to sex
• Sexual nudity
• Brief scenes of sexual violence
• Drug taking
• Discriminatory language and behaviour

18 rating

No one under the age of 18 can view a 18 rated film at the cinema or by buying/renting. Some things that may be in a 18 rated film are:

• Very strong language
• Strong horror 
• Frequent strong and very strong language such as 'f**k' and 'c**t'
• Scenes of sexual violence
• Strong portrayals of sexual activity
• Strong blood and gore
• Real sex
• Discriminatory language and behaviour

R18 rating

R18: Restricted 18. R18 films are in a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or fetish material involving adults. This films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas.

(Information taken from http://www.bbfc.co.uk/)

Film Opening - Guardians of the Galaxy

This is the opening to the film Guardians of the Galaxy.

The technical codes in this opening are the lighting, it is very dark and dull which is usually associated with horror/thriller films. The opening is mainly made up for close ups, medium shots and establishing shots to show off the main character and his surroundings. There is has been a song used in the background that makes the film seem more like a comedy rather than a horror/thriller. There are also lots of strange creatures in the film opening, from this the audience can tell that the film is from the fantasy genre.

The symbolic codes in this opening are that the colours are dark and dull, which again is giving off the impression that the film is going to be of the horror/thriller genre. The main character seems quite easy going, jumping around singing and dancing. The clothes the main character is wearing are very casual.

The written codes are the films title and the opening credits. The film title pops up onto the screen as then quickly goes away. The opening credits quickly fade onto the screen and then fade off after a few seconds.

Film Opening - The lovely Bones

This is the opening to the film The Lovely Bones:

The technical codes in this opening are the lighting, the lighting is very bright and happy which gives off the impression that this is going to be a positive film that a lot of people can enjoy. The opening is mainly made up of medium shots which show the main character (Susie), her dad and the snow-globe and close ups of the main character or the snow-globe. A voice over is also used for the main character to talk over what is happening in the scene, she has quite a calm and relaxing film which would suggest to the reader that this is going to be a fairly laid back with not a lot if any action.

The symbolic codes in this opening are that the colours are bright and friendly, which again is giving off the impression that the film is going to be a happy and positive one. The clothing the characters are wearing is very casual, showing this is not a formal film. The body language of the characters shown is very relaxed, which yet again shows off the easy going nature of the film and how it is going to be a positive film  rather than giving the impression that this film is going to be a horror or an action film.

The written codes are the opening titles that slowly fade on and off of the screen, again shows the calm and relaxing nature of the film.

Film opening - Zombieland

This is the opening to Zombieland:

The Hook: Everything in the scene is destroyed, cars crashed, upside down and on fire. All of this destruction draws in the audience and makes them want to see more. The shot used to shot the destruction are mostly long shots, but their are some close up shots that focus ob zombies attacking and eating people.

Set the scene ( time? Setting?): The time of year is not clear from the opening however the setting is a destroyed and zombie invaded America. Everywhere you look in the scene there is chaos and destruction, such as blood, fire and destroyed buildings and houses.

Introduce the characters: The characters are only introduced by written codes, showing the names of people in the film.

Introduce the genre: The setting gives the audience the impression that the film is going be a thriller/horror. However from the way the narrator is talking it sounds as though it could have a hint of comedy to it,

Credits: The credits are a written code,they appear on the screen in large red text to make it stand out, they slowly fade on and off of the screen. They also have a song in the background to get peoples attention and make the opening more interesting, this would be a technical code.

Narrative: The story is presented as a thriller/horror, this is shown though destruction, the blood and zombies.

Film opening - Juno

This is the opening to the film Juno:

The technical codes in this opening are the lighting, the lighting is very bright and happy which gives off the impression that this is going to be a positive film that a lot of people can enjoy. The opening is mainly made up of medium shots which show the main character (Juno) and some of the background.

The symbolic codes in this opening are that the colours are bright and friendly, which again is giving off the impression that the film is going to be a happy and positive one. The main character seems quite easy going, the clothing she is wearing is very casual, showing this is not a formal film. The main characters body language is very relaxed, which yet again shows her easy going nature and how the film is going to be a positive film  rather than giving the impression that this film is going to be a horror or an action film.

Codes and conventions

What is a code?
A code is a communication system which contains elements which have an agreed meaning.

There are three different types of codes that may be used to convey meanings in media messages, these codes are:

• Technical codes: These include camera techniques, framing, depth of field, mise en scene, editing, lighting and sound.

• Symbolic codes: These refer to objects, setting, body language, clothing and colour.

• Written codes: These are in the form of headlines, captions,speech bubbles and language style.

What is a convention?
Conventions are generally accepted patterns of code that communicate a particular message.

The purpose of a film opening is to begin to grab the interest of the audience so they get hooked into the film. The film opening also clearly show the audience what the genre of the film is and show either the protagonist or antagonist.

Timing conventions: the length of most film openings are around 2 minutes long, however some major blockbusters can take up to 5 minutes.

Set the scene: This means showing the audience the year, the location, what is going on and so on.

Introduce the key characters: The key characters are the protagonist, the antagonist, the sidekick.

Introduce pre plot or beginning narrative: This establishes the platform/scene

Key Credits: Such as the production company. the director, the actors, the logo.

The opening usually starts with a Equilibrium where a key event occurs.

Main exercise

The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of 2 minutes.

continuity

Continuity is the continuation of a scene with numerous shots mixing in together, there are no breaks in the scene. Continuity is also lots of small scenes that keep the moving flowing without spending to much time focusing on one scene.

An example of continuity could be a guy flying to New York, what would be shown is:

• Him arriving at the airport
• Him boarding his flight
• Him on the plane
• Him getting off the plane in New York.

The video above explains the reason why video's and films need continuity, and why things are a problem without them.

Preliminary exercise video

This is my group video for our preliminary exercise, for the first time filming and editing I think we did okay. We had a few bloopers where we couldn't open the door, someone forgot what they were meant to say, people carried on talking without the person with the camera going round to film the shot reverse shot. We managed to get everything we needed while filming such as Match on action, Shot reverse shot and we kept to the 180 degree rule.

When we came to editing we had a bit of trouble as the program Adobe Premium Pro kept crashing and we were just starting to learn how to use it, but we managed to get it sorted in the end and edit all our footage. Overall I think our preliminary exercise went well however if I was to do it again I would film more footage so we have more to work with when it comes to editing.

Camera shots.

Camera shots

• Extreme long shot: A extreme long shot is usually taken from quite far away and is used to set the scene. It will more often than not be showing an exterior such as a landscape or outside of a building, these scenes do not really show to much detail as they are more about given a general impression rather than showing specific information.   

• Long shot: A long shot shows the audience the character from head to toe. Even though the main focus of this shot is on the character there is still usually a fair amount of background detail.     

• Medium shot: A medium shot shows a character from then waist up and is normally used during dialogue scenes. There are two variations of this shot, these are a two shot and a three shot containing two or three people anymore than this then it is usually known as a long shot. There is not a lot of detail in this shot as the location has probably already be established in another scene.

• Close up: A close up shot shows very little if any background and usually focusing on a face or a specific object, anything other than the main focus of the scene is blurred. This shot shows the focus of things for example the expression on a characters face or important information on a document.

• Extreme close up: This shot magnifies beyond what the human eye can see. An extreme close up may be of a characters face and would only show their eyes or mouth and has no background what so ever. This shot is used for dramatic effect.

180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule is a filming guideline that says that characters in a scene should have the same left right relationship with each other. When the two characters are facing each other an imaginary line must be draw, the line usually runs straight down the middle of these two characters as shown in the image below.

Once this imaginary has been set and the filming has begun the camera must stay on the same side of the line. If the camera is switching between faces and suddenly crosses to the other side of the line, the characters will appear as though they are facing the same direction and it will not look as though they are talking to each other.

Shot/reverse shot

Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character and then it switches and the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Due to the fact the characters are shown facing in opposite directions it gives the impression to the viewer that the characters are looking at each other.

A good example of shot reverse shot is shown is the video above.

Match on action

Match on action is when an action is started in one shot and continued on into another shot for example if you where filming someone opening a door you would have a shot of them from behind walking up to the door, then a close up of them pulling the handle and then a shot of them walking into the door where they are walking towards the camera. The video below shows another example of match on action.

A good example of match on action in the video above is between 2-3 seconds because the perspective of the camera changes while the scene carries on uninterrupted.

Preliminary exercise

Produce a continuity exercise which involves a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom they exchange a couple of lines of dialogue. The task should demonstrate:

• Match on action
• Shot/reverse shot
• 180 degree rule