9 Frame For Our Film Opening

We have put together a 9 frame image using various snapshots of the film opening that we find important to the story line. These 9 frames show you briefly what happens throughout the film opening and give you a real insight as to what genre of movie it is through the costumes and props. This is what we set out to achieve before filming as genre was a key focus.

My Thoughts On The Equipment and Technology

During the process of our media course, we have had to use specific equipment to enable us to complete our practical tasks. Throughout the course we have only had access to basic school equipment, such as; cameras and editing software. We have therefore been limited to an extent as to what we can do to make our film opening look as good and as professional as possible. However, I feel our skills with the software and equipment has been great and consequently has enabled us to complete the production (which we had planned) to the best of our abilities. Also, everything has been running smoothly, such as the editing software (Adobe Premier Pro) and the production equipment (cameras and tripods) as a result of this we have not faced any major problems. We have also used YouTube to enable us to put our production tasks on there to gain us some feedback. Overall the equipment has been good, and it has enabled us to complete what we wanted to do to the best of our abilities.

 This is Adobe Premier Pro (our editing software)












This is a Canon Legria FS200 (our camera)











 This is the basic tripod we used.








This is our YouTube channel which we posted our videos on.

Filming Complete

We have completed all of our production filming today, everything ran smoothly and we worked really well as a group. We feel that we have captured more than enough shot's to be able to edit our film and not to have to re- film again. This will consequently save a lot of time. Due to the research and planning we have done it has enabled us to get all of our filming complete promptly and smoothly and as a result has minimised the amount of errors.
Here are a few snapshots of our filming which we completed today:



Dom taking a phonecall.

 Kidnap














Package mix up discussion

Filming

Today we plan on going out to film, we have spent a long while in preparation to make sure everything goes to plan. We have a schedule to follow which should keep the day organised. We plan on filming every seen today as all locations are local and this is one of the only days we are all available. We are filming during lesson time and then after school  to use the natural dark lighting for kidnap to use the stereotypical dark eerie settings for bad  events, this is symbolic.

Filming Production Schedule

We plan on filming tomorrow during lesson time and will meet at school.
This is the plan we will follow throughout the day, this will save time and keep everything organised.
We plan on filming everything in one day as most of the scenes are around the same local area and are easy to get to.

Locations:
- Office shot in School classroom; 9am -10:30am
- Car scene near business; 12am - 1:30pm
- Kidnap scene; 7:30pm  - 8:30pm

Props:
- Office; phones, parcels, drugs
- Car scene; Car, bag, balaclava’s, gun
 - Kidnap; Balaclavas, car, parcel, bag

 Costume:

- Office; work clothes, shirt, tie coat, bag
- Car Scene; suit, sunglasses
- Kidnap; Balaclavas, dark clothes, jackets

 Actors/ Actresses:

- Office; Dom as Danny Stevens, Adam as John Peters, Roberto as Mail Boy
- Car Scene; Dom as Danny Stevens, Brad as Steve Graham
- Kidnap; Dom as Danny Stevens, Brad as Steve Graham, Adam as John Peters

Equipment:

Camera, Tripod

 Time frame for filming:

1 day

Time frame for editing:

 3 days

Analysing Films - Vantage Point

In this trailer we can see how the camera flicks into different points of view showing you the whole wider picture, and the main characters in the film. It introduces by opening with an establishing wide shot setting the scene to allow the viewer to see, what’s roughly going on and where. The lighting seems to be quite bright this is maybe to allow you to see it is a happy environment and a good event is taking place. It then introduces you to the characters which seem to be the bodyguards which give you the impression something bad is going to happen as their role is to protect against bad people; it focuses on them a lot and their suspicious looking faces. We then get to see faces of some members of the public seeing their faces we can establish for ourselves what we make of them and how we label them before we actually understand what’s going on. Suddenly the president gets penetrated into the chest and we realise he has been shot  as he collapses slowly to the ground. We don't know where the bullet comes from. This adds mystery and suspense this huge impact of what has happened keeps viewers on edge for what is going to take place next. The whole of this is very fast paced and quick snappy shots, exactly what we would like to include in our film opening as it seems to be a recurring theme in all action movies so we see it as an important feature we should most definitely incorporate whilst filming. The use of guns and violence also again occurs, another stereotypical symbol in an action movie. The music playing over the top of the video is very intense as it has a slow but built up beat, makes it feel as though it is leading to something big. Overall this film will make the viewer stay interested because of the action what goes on in the film.

Analysing Films - 2Fast 2Furious Opening Scene

2 Fast 2 Furious is a 2003 American street racing action film directed by John Singleton. It is the second film in The Fast and the Furious film franchise.  In 2 Fast 2 Furious, ex-cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) teams up with his ex-con friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and works with undercover U.S. Customs agent Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) to bring Miami-based drug lord Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) down. In this clip above, it shows the first scene of the film, where Bryan gets called out to street race. This film is filled with action packed moments which excites the viewer massively. These films are incredibly exciting and fascinating. The sound which is in this clip is mainly the cars engines; this truly adds to the effect of racing and makes the viewer feel there. Also in the back ground you can hear music which builds it up to have a dramatic finish, and it does. There are many different camera angles in this clip such as close ups, which show the viewer exactly what is happening, there is match on action, when the drivers change gear and use the pedals. There are also extremely good two shots, showing two cars or two drivers which builds up the tension for the viewer. Also establishing wide shots, to show the viewer what is happening in one big picture. Finally the editing in this film and in this clip is brilliant. It really does enable the viewer to believe there in the races to because how realistic they make it. The editing when they use NOS (Nitrous oxide gas) is good because it shows that it speeds up the car even more and this is emphasized by things outside the car going past really quick and also by the drivers being pulled back. Overall this film is great because it will keep the viewer interested due to the quick action of the races and also by the great narrative.       

Analysing Films - Insidious

Insidious is a 2011 independent American psychological horror film. Written by Leigh Whannell and directed by James Wan, the film featured Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Barbara Hershey in starring roles. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts/ demons in an astral dimension. Insidious was a very successful horror movie.
The characters in insidious make the movie very scary, this is because they make it seem real, they make the viewer on edge because they are terrified of what’s haunting their son. The old women (Lin Shaye) who tries to help their son because she’s seen it before, defiantly adds the scare factor to this film, this is because she is weird in the way she works, she evidently adds to the horror genre. Also the demons that play in this film, are terrifying, some horror films like ‘Paranormal Activity’ don’t show who the ghosts and demons are, but Insidious does which makes it even more terrifying.
The sound in this horror film also makes it scary and mysterious to the viewer; sound can play a massive part in horror movies and does in Insidious. The creepy soundtrack’s build up suspense and make the viewer think something bad is going to happen. Also when the sound goes from quite to very loud instantly (for example the shout on the baby monitor) it would make the viewer jump. The diegetic sound (speech) in this film is very intriguing and frightening, when there is speech from the demons it is very scary, and also when the adults and doctors are talking it’s also frightening because they don’t know what is up with the boy. Jump scares are a typical horror film convention in ones which are psychologically scary. The lighting most defiantly plays a part in making a horror film scary. In insidious the dark scenes often make the viewer think something bad is going to happen, and because of the dark it can be unpredictable. Also when it is daylight in horror films the viewer almost feels safe, however in Insidious some of the scary and mysterious scenes happen in the light, this is good because the viewer would not be expecting it.
Overall, Insidious is a very scary and very fun haunted house thrill ride. It depends on characters, atmosphere and sneaky happenings. It has been labeled as the “Most Terrifying Film since The Exorcist", and the Exorcist was one of the most terrifying film’s of its time (1973).

What makes an action movie or any other captivating to you?

After asking our class what makes an action movie or any other movie captivating to them, we got these certain words in response. We have made them into a wordle to be presented in a more interesting way. Asking our class benefits us as they are at the particular age of our target audience so we know our research will be solid and reliable.

Action Genre - Film Distrubution Company

This company could be a possible choice that would fit our genre and would be the best option to distribute our film.

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (CPII) is an American film production and distribution studio. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film studios in the world, a member of the so-called Big Six. It was one of the so-called Little Three among the eight major film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age.

The studio, founded in 1918 as Cohn-Brandt-Cohn Film Sales by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and Joe Brandt, released its first feature film in August 1922. It adopted the Columbia Pictures name in 1924 and went public two years later. The name is derived from "Columbia", a national personification of the United States, which is used as the company's logo.

In its early years a minor player in Hollywood, Columbia began to grow in the late 1920s, spurred by a successful association with director Frank Capra.

Here are a list of films that Columbia production company have distributed over this year alone. they have distributed almost thousands of films over the years starting in 1930.

Analysing Films - Watchmen Opening Scene

This is the opening scene for the film Watchmen. It is a typical action film and involves many typical and stereotypical themes you may find in many action movies. One of these is the lighting it is filmed in a dark light this creates mystery and suspense; we will try and include this in our production. There is also a main fight scene including a gun, which is a very important prop this shows crime and action as well as violence all which are usually included in action films. We plan to use both fights and guns in our film. The fight adds drama and tension to the viewer as they want to know what is going to be the final outcome. Also they add good editing into this opening; they show slow-motion shots in order to show the viewer slowly what is happening. They did this a few times, but the one which is most similar and which relates to our production is the punch in slow-motion, this is because we have incorporated this into our interrogation scene. Also the sound they use over this fight scene is not one which you would expect, this is because it is slow and calm, but it is brilliant because it fits in perfectly. The different shots are snappy and quick making the pace fast and intense this makes it on-edge for the viewer and keeps them wanting to watch, rather than it dragging out slowly which is not very entertaining and would not match the action for this genre. We will try to incorporate this into our film opening.

Possible Target Audience

We have done some background research and thinking about what our possible target audience could be. As a result we have tried to build up target audience profile to enable us to know what people would be interested to see our film. We know (as teenagers ourselves) that action films are extremely popular and liked by the younger generation. Action films are very enjoyable and exciting for young people. We believe that an accurate age for our target audience would be between 16 - 24 years of age. The older generation may still be interested in our product and genre, but compared to the younger generation not so much.

Here is an example of our target audience:

Here are some examples of other action films that have been extremely succesful and popular.

Horizontal Integration

A horizontal integrated company owns or has shares in lots of different companies and these companies can be used to produce, market and supply products. For example a film can be purchased as a feature at the cinema, rented on DVD, purchased as a download and finally purchased as a DVD.

Vertical Integration

Vertical integration is when a company oversees the planning and creation of a product, through to the marketing, advertising and distribution and then on to the retail of the product to the public. A company which is vertically integrated has control over all the stages of a products life. In media this means they have control of three processes; production, this includes writing, planning and the creation of the product. Distribution, taking the finished product to the retailer and marketing the product. Finally exhibition, the point at which the product is sold to the consumer.

Synergy

Synergy is the process through which media products derived from the same text are promoted in and through each other and throughout the subsidiaries of a media conglomerate. Synergy is closely linked to convergence as the coming together of the separate companies associated with different technologies within a conglomerate allow for synergy to happen. Synergy works on two levels; the main text is promoted using the many subsidiaries of the conglomerate, and the individual products used to advertise the main text are linked to each other.

Convergence

Convergence is the term used to describe how technology has brought together previously separate media channels. For example, a mobile phone and a camera work independently from one another but since early 2000's the two technologies have converged and most mobile phones now include a camera. In the film industry digital recording and distribution methods mean that previously separate forms can be bought together or converged. The digital content produced during film making is compatible with other digital media so can be used on websites or in games. Convergence is just the coming together or merging of two things.

Post Production

Post production is the term for all stages of production occurring after the actual end of shooting and recording the completed work. Post-production is, in fact, many different processes grouped under one name. These are; video editing, writing, adding visual special effects and sound design/ effects. Post production can take longer than the actual making of the film itself this is because it needs to complete the editing, colour correction and the addition of music and sound. Post production can be seen as second directing because through post production it is possible to change the intention of the film.

Production

The production part in media is the actual making and filming of the film. This is when the film has been given the go ahead and they can get deep into and concentrate purely on filming of the film. However it’s not this simple, there are in fact many different stages of production and different things to consider. It all begins with the producer, he gets everything together and organised, for example the cast, the idea, the development and the crew. Then in order to film the idea and the script must be good! then the package, this is where the screen play needs to be written, need to sort out the budget. Attracting investment this is where the producer meets other producers across the world, this is essential because without the investment the film will not be made. The planning is very important, they should make sure time is kept for the harder and longer scenes when shooting. Also the budget is very important, this is based on the investment and when they have this they need to draw up a financial plan showing how they are going to pay for everything. Above and below the line costs, above the line is the script, screen play, actors, producer, director and below the line is the designers. They also need to consider their audience so they need to consider the location and who will want to see the film. Finally the marketing, this costs more than making the film, they need to find a gap in the market for their film.

Pre-Production

Pre Production is the process of preparing all of the elements involved in a film. Pre Production begins once the project has been given permission (greenlit). This is the stage where finalizing preperations for production go into effect. During pre-production, the script is broken down. The individual scenes and all the locations, props, cast members, costumes, special effects and visual effects are identified. At the begining of pre production the screen play is page locked and scenes are numbered, this helps avoid confussion.

Analysing Films - Taken

This famous action film called Taken was a very successful and well produced film; it is popular because of its constant drama and action. I am going to be analysing its mis-en-scene and the techniques it may use to portray its genre. This will guide us in the right direction as to what we would want to try to incorporate into our film. This is a trailer and not a film opening but still consists of scenes from the movie which include a lot of action and drama. Most of the scenes when action and crimes occur are in a dark and mysterious lighting which makes it more anxious for the viewer as to what will occur. The start is in a brighter light, this is because there is no drama but just innocence from the young girls. The music allows the tension to build up so you know something bad may happen, creating the typical action image. The movie contains a kidnap, this is great for us as we plan on using one in our film opening, the girl witness's a kidnap first and is scared, the men are in dark outfits and we barely see them to add mystery. The girl then gets kidnapped; there is a lot of noise and screaming at this point. We plan on using a kidnap in a similar way; the criminals will be in balaclavas and dark clothes. The music in the background gets intense and adds suspense in certain situations. Also the use of quick snap shots gets used adding pace and drama and keeping the audience on edge. A gun is also used later on in the film this is a key prop piece in most action films, it’s a weapon which shows criminality and action. Fighting occurs throughout; this keeps the film intense and interesting and is stereotypical feature in action films. Overall this film has had massive success, and considering are film opening follows the same lines in certain aspects, it gives us great confidence that we can incorporate good action shots to define our genre and also it will keep our viewers interested and in suspense, this is a great element to action films.