Study Day - Real Title Sequence Example

At out BFI Study Day we looked at opening title sequences. The title sequences that we looked at were; Dawn of the Dead, Catch me if you can and Napoleon Dynamite

BFI Study Day

Film openings 1 copy from petefrasers

 

Film openings 2 from petefrasers

On Thursday 21st November, our A level media class visited the BFI (British Film Institute) in South Bank, London, to learn some important information on opening sequences concerning how the how they are made professionally, what they need to include and tips on how to make an opening sequence for when we make them later in the year.

 

The lecture was started by Pete Fraser who began with the 5 aspects of genre, narrative and how important enigma is when trying to give the audience questions that will make them watch on.
He then showed three different opening sequence from known films, this included "Catch Me If You Can", "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Napoleon Dynamite". Each of the sequences showed an alternative way in which to present the credits, each of them very different from the other. This was achieved through setting, atmosphere, music and character. This was a very positive thing as we gained some vital knowledge from experienced professionals.

We then watched and analysed some amateur opening title sequences with Pete going through the positives and negatives. This included that films such as Juno includes 24 credit cards whereas many amateur producer forget to include enough, making it seems unrealistic.

 

Another topic that was discussed was Foley. This is the technique of replacing amateur sounds with crisp and professional sounds that you want. We also learnt that our opening title sequences should be no longer than 2 minutes.  

 

Preliminary Task Stefano, Lewis, Kieran

In groups of no more than 4
 Continuity task, involving filming and editing opening a door  sitting down opposite another character exchange a couple of lines of dialogue

task must demonstrate:

• match on action
• shot reverse shot
• 180 degree rule

Editing

Editing

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible and film media used to convey information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate and complete work

Technical editing involves reviewing text written on a technical topic, identifying usage errors and ensuring adherence to a style guide.

Technical editing may include the correction of grammatical mistakes, misspellings, mistyping, incorrect punctuation, inconsistencies in usage, poorly structured sentences, wrong scientific terms, wrong units and dimensions, inconsistency in significant figures, technical ambivalence, technical disambiguation, statements conflicting with general scientific knowledge, correction of synopsis, content, index, headings and subheadings, correcting data and chart presentation in a research paper or report, and correcting errors in citations.

In large companies, experienced writers are dedicated to the technical editing function. In organizations that cannot afford dedicated editors, experienced writers typically peer-edit text produced by their less experienced colleagues.

It helps if the technical editor is familiar with the subject being edited. The "technical" knowledge that an editor gains over time while working on a particular product or technology does give the editor an edge over another who has just started editing content related to that product or technology. But essential general skills are attention to detail, the ability to sustain focus while working through lengthy pieces of text on complex topics, tact in dealing with writers, and excellent communication skills.

Film Distribution

Film Distribution

British Film has been dominated by Hollywood since WW1. Any essay that discusses UK Film has to reference the cultural and ideological dominance of the Hollywood Film Industry to such as point that many cinema goers often will never see a film in any other environment than a multiplex cinema. They may also fail to recognise that many other countries have very successful film industries - this reflects a concept called the Hollywood Hegemony.

 

Example of a low level opening title sequence

Karma - AS Level Media Studies Opening Sequence by Sophie Barrett

Example of a high level opening title sequence

The Edge - AS Level Media Studies Opening Sequence by Rory Campbell       

Narrative

Narrative

Narrative is the order in which a film is told. In terms of Media and films narrative is the coherence/organisation of media texts for example the story. We connect events and make interpretations based on those connections. Narrative is correlated with genre as some genres have typical story-lines.

In most narratives there is a problem or a dilemma that the protagonist (hero) has to overcome, the majority of the film will be the hero attempting to solve whatever the problem is. These are called narrative enigmas, they are there so that the story line is more interesting.

Difference between narrative story and narrative plots

A narrative story is what happens in the film which includes a back story as well as those projected the story whereas a narrative plot is the order in which the story is told. 

Typical example of a narrative story

Crime conceived
Crime planned
Crime committed
Crime discovered
Detective investigates
Detective identifies criminals

If a director wants to make the story more interesting they can rearrange the order of events

Crime discovered
Detective investigates
Crime conceived
Crime planned
Crime committed
Detective identifies criminals

An example of a director that has done this in many of his films is Quentin Tarantino (Director of Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds and Django)

Genre Typecasting

In media typecasting is the process by which particular actors become strongly linked with certain roles and genres. This can be bad for an actors reputation as they might not be able to play big roles in films that's genres do not match

An example of this is Jim Carey, he is usually shown as a comedic character as he mainly appears in comedies such as; Bruce Almighty, Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber.































Another example of typecasting in genre is with Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis mainly features in action films like the "Die Hard" series and The Expendables. He is usually portrayed as a tough guy character for example in the die hard films he plays John McClane

















An actor that is also often typecasted is Hugh Grant, he is usually in romantic comedies and is usually the main character. He has been in films such as Bridget Jones' diary and Notting Hill

Film Ratings

Film Rating

All classifications decision are based on the BBFC's

Ratings used in Britain: U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18, R18











The BBFC decided to put ratings on films in 1912 because they thought that some films were too graphic for children to see. In America in 1984 the rating PG-13 was introduced because people thought there were films on the border between PG and R

The history of the BBFC can be found on this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_British_film_certificates


In the past there have been examples of films that's rating has changed. Such as Rambo which got chanced from a 15 to a 18



Film ratings exist because there are some scenes in films that are not appropriate for people of younger ages. They also act as a guideline for whether or not a person will like some of the themes in the films.

Audience Positioning

Created with Padlet

Audience Positioning

How Men Are Represented In Thriller

How Men Are Represented In Thriller

In the majority of thriller films men are shown to be the traditional stereotypes of men. Some examples of stereotypes of men are; that men are tough, men like cars and men are usually the hero most pieces of media

To find a list of traditional gender stereotypes follow this link: http://1020blog.wordpress.com/2007/01/25/stereotypes-of-the-male-and-female/

Men are more often than not the mains characters in films because they are stereotypically "the hero" this is evident in many thriller films such as "Taken", "Jack Reacher" and "Shutter Island". Men in these films are tall and strong characters this is stereotypically heroic and they are often clever or witty to add to the charactistics of the protagonist. All of these values added together often makes a very likeable or preferable character

Audience Research Methods

Audience Research Methods

Media is measured in many ways, these include; Sales, Subscriptions, Ratings and Figures.

One of the companies that do this is "NRS", this is the website for that company:

http://nrsmedia.com/

BARB - www.barb.co.uk

Booksellers

"At NRS Media, we focus on developing successful direct sales campaigns for the media industry. We’ve been in business for over 21 years and have delivered US$700M in additional revenue globally." - Taken from the NRS website

New media can measure audience through social networks like FaceBook and Twitter. They can also use video sharing sites such as YouTube that have a like/dislike system in place. YouTube also record the amount of view on each video which is another way to record the size audience a piece of media has.











When looking at audiences, there are two main types of research: Quantitive research which is questionnaires and is number based and is usually very factual.

The second way to research is qualitative research which is things like interviews and focus groups.

Audience engagement - This describes how an audience interacts with a media product, different people reacts to the same product in different ways

Audience expectations - These are the ideas the audience have in advance of seeing a media product. This particularly applies to genre pieces. Don't forget producers continually play or shatter audience expectations. 

Audiences

Audiences

All text are made with an audience in mind, there are two types of audiences, mass audiences or  niche audiences.

Mass Audience - A film with an audience of a large scale.
Niche Audience - A film with a Small/specific audience.

Without an audience there would be no point in making media products. Organisations make media products so that they can make profit on their films.

No Audience = No Profit

Katz and Blumler were two theorists that researched audience behaviour, they discovered that audiences like media products for three main reasons

1. To find out information on a certain topic "satisfying curiosity", people may read a newspaper in order to find out about current events.

2. To gain a personal identity or to find a role model to base their personality on

3. For integration or social interaction as it enables you to connect with friends or family.

Impact of new technology

Old TV, Radio and Newspapers are classed as old media used to have a very large audience now have to work harder to maintain audience numbers

Digital technology has led to an increasing uncertainty over how we define audiences with the general agreement being that a group of people reading or watching the same thing is an audience. digital technology includes smart phones and social media.

Demographic - Age
                       - Race
                       - Gender
                       - Class/Status
Psychographic - Audience's interests

Mass audiences are forms of media that appeal to a large amount of people this would be films such as the James Bond Films or the Harry Potter films.














Whereas niche audiences have less viewers but are very influential in that field. An example of a film with a niche audience is This is England.




A full list of how audiences are categorized with detailed notes can be found at:

http://www.thinkbox.tv/server/show/nav.914

From this link I have learnt how audiences consume media and how audiences are divided into categories so that they are easily recognisable.

Group A is made up of Doctors, Scientists, Lawyers and other well paid professionals.

Group B - teachers, Middle Management and fairly well paid professionals

Group C1 - Junior Management, Bank Clerks

Group C2 - Plumbers, Electricians and Carpenters

Group D - Manual workers such as Post sorters and drivers

Group E -  Students, Pensioners and unemployed

The Three Act Structure

The Three Act Structure

Act One - In Act One the protagonist meets all of the characters in the play. We also find out what the main problem of the story is. Everybody can usually plot Act One because we have to know the problem to have the idea. The trick in Act One is to keep it interesting. Don't just start rolling out story points. Start at the most interesting point, where there is conflict and excitement, and help the audience sort it out.

Act Two - This is the part of the narrative where the storyline escalates, it is the most important part of the film as there is a complication in the storyline and the protagonist usually has a dilemma to overcome. Sometimes there is an introduction of a new character that will be a helper to the main character. An example of this is in the film "Batman Forever" by Joel Schumacher. In this film Batman's sidekick Robin enters the frame and becomes another main character.

Act Three - This is simply the resolution of the problem that the protagonist had been facing, there is usually a final "big scene" where the story come to its climax

Research for the three act structure - Link

Three Act Structure of "The Shawshank Redemption"

The Shawshank Redemption serves as a good example of a film that uses the Three Act Structure. The film follows the guidelines for a Three Act Structure as defined by Professor Ramirez-Berg very closely.

Act I typically sets up the film and provides the viewer with information about what the world is like. This opening includes background information and sets up the story. In The Shawshank Redemption, Act I opens with the lead character Andy in court and going to prison for a crime he did not commit. As the first act continues, Andy arrives in prison. Plot point 1 arrives when Andy asks a fellow inmate, Red, for a rock hammer. This scene pulls Act I, which was around 32 minutes, to a close.

During Act II, the protagonist is typically faced with a struggle of some sort and is forced to make various moral choices. During Act II of the film, which runs a bit long at around 75-80 minutes, Andy grows closer to Red and begins adapting to his life in prison. Andy soon gains the trust of the warden and the midpoint of Act II comes as Andy begins playing opera over a loud speaker to the entire prison. This was a result of the prison library Andy had been in control of. As Act II begins to close, Andy starts informing his knowledge of the corrupt prison regulations to his fellow inmates. Plot Point two shows Andy escaping from prison through piping.

Act III opens with the guards finding Andy's open cell and discovering he had used a rock hammer to pick through the cement walls. Red later goes up for parole and is granted his freedom. Once in the real world, it is unclear as to whether Red will make it after being away in prison for so long. The climax of the film occurs as Red goes to a spot he was told about by Andy and finds a letter and cash. The closing resolution scene shows Andy and Red being reunited in Mexico. Act III lasts about 30 minutes.

The Shawshank Redemption is an example of a Three Act Structure and although it doesn't follow the basic time ruls, it does run very close. By examining the film closely, it can be easily broken down into three basic components.

Sub Genre

Sub-Genre

Sub-genres are identifiable sub-classes almost like a sub-heading, within the larger film genre, with their own distinctive subject matter, style, formulas and iconography.

For example; Spy, Political Thriller, Martial arts film and race against time

James Bond is a good example of a film with a lot of sub genres

 

 

Hybrid Genre

 

Hybrid genres are films that include more than one main genre. A good example of a genre that does this is Romantic Comedies. Hybrid genres appeal to a wider range of people as the audience for the film. This can be good for a film companies as there may be something for everyone in each film

 

Some more examples of hybrid genres are horror romance, horror war, historical drama, historical romance.

 

"Most films are hybrid genres because they contain attributes of more than one genre." - Warren Buckland

 

An example of a hybrid film is Sean of the dead, this is a horror/comedy film as it has element of both types of film.

 

 

 

 



Film Genres

Film Genres

Film genres are identifiable types, categories or classification used to categorize films with similar themes. There are many different types of genre including; Comedy, Action/Adventure, Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller and epics. Each of these different genres have different paradigms and tend to be structured differently. Here are some examples of films from different genres;

Action/Adventure

Here is the trailer of blockbuster action film, A Good Day To Die Hard (Clip taken from YouTube):

This is a typical action film, which is extremely obvious from the trailer as there is a lot of explosions and gunfire which is a common feature of most action films. You can also often tell what genre of film you are watching from the actors that are in the main parts. In the case of this film, the main character is played by Bruce Willis who is often associated with action films.

Comedy 

Here is the trailer of one of my favourite comedy films, White Chicks

As soon as this trailer starts playing it is obvious that it is a trailer for a comedy because of the voice over and the description of what the film is about. Also the themes in the film cannot be any other genre because of the nature of them

 

Paradigm -

Iconography - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconography