Film Opening Evaluation
For our final practical production piece we were asked to film and edit our own film opening in the style of a specific genre. I feel that our film opening uses and develops several conventions of real media products. We decided to after detailed research to create a film that falls into the genre of ‘Thriller’ and by using and executing a number of techniques we feel we did. In the making of our own film we re
searched a series of other thriller films and took elements of different films in order to emulate an opening with a similar style. For example, the black and white of our flashback scene was inspired by the opening fight scene in ‘Casino Royale’; thanks to our research we were able to achieve a cut-away scene with high impact. We developed the generic conventions by using effective mise en scene in our flashback scene, for example; we decided to make our villain wear a mask in the scene to create a level of enigma. We also used an effective semi-subliminal flash of the villains masked face, this was an attempt to emulate a similar effect used in the film ‘Fight Club’, this use of a flash image with a high pitched scream provided impact and a high level of enigma.
By using suitable sound effects and music we were able to identify the sub-genre of horror for our film, the elements of danger and violence were emphasized by using high pitched sounds to alert the audience to upcoming tension, we feel this worked effectively as the sounds created an uneasy viewing experience which is what we wanted to achieve. I feel that influence from other films our clear in our final piece, for example during our research period we viewed a short excerpt from the film ‘Shallow Grave’ which inspired the use of diverse camera angles when filming our own burial scene, I feel that we took the correct elements from the clip and emulated it successfully in our own film opening.
By using young actors in our film opening we were able to represent the social group of youth. We achieved this through areas of mise en scene, for example our lead characters our dressed in stereotypical youthful clothing such as casual jeans and hooded sweatshirts. Our villain also fits the stereotype
of a sub-social group ‘Hoodies’ by using obvious mise en scene the villain is easily identifiable as a modern day rogue. The connotations surrounding the character with his hood up instantly creates a hostile view of the villain. This use of clothing was another clear choice for us when creating an easily identifiable killer giving us more time to progress with the narrative instead of establishing the characters.
This choice of characters appeals to our target audience of particularly male teenagers as the characters are familiar to this specific social group. The use of these characters was necessary in drawing our ideal audience.
I feel that the distribution of our film would be primarily mainstream as it conveys many generic conventions of other blockbuster thrillers. Large franchise chains such as Apollo Cinemas would be a likely distributor of a film such as this. Our use of the plain white mask for our villain character creates a perfect chance for merchandising. We decided this in the research stage of our filming when looking into the film ‘Scream’ and the epic merchandising of the infamous ‘Scream’ mask. This element of merchandising provides another tier for the success of the distribution. As mentioned before, our replicates areas of ‘Casino Royale’ which was a famous blockbuster smash indicating that our film would involve a big budget premiere alongside a possible universal distribution.
As briefly discussed before, our target audience for our film opening is primarily male teenagers. We decided this after extensive research into the thriller genre and after a questionnaire based viewing of our film. We found that we received the best feedback from teenage males, indicating that we had successfully located the target audience. When concluding the evidence from our questionnaires we found that we targeted the correct audience effectively and all our techniques had been necessary in attracting our specified viewers. Once again the use of youthful actors and ‘Hoody’ stereotypes were key whilst identifying our audience, as we found that the teenage youth found these characters instantly recognisable.
Although focussing on targeting teenage males we also used elements of horror in our film that wo
uld particularly terrify males and females alike. We attracted our audience by using a number of techniques such as youthful actors and effective camera angels. For example, the over-the-shoulder shots used during the flashback scene launches the audience into the scene with several point of view shots. Although all the action is witnessed by the audience, the identity of the villain is unknown by those viewing, this level of enigma provides an incentive to carry on watching the film. This theory was supported by the questionnaire results in which 90% of the participants revealed that they would like to see the rest of the film. This was an important figure for us in being satisfied with our final product.
Learning and progressing with the media technologies over this practical production piece has been necessary in achieving an effective final piece. Whilst filming for the forest scenes we faced the challenge of achieving a stable and level shot, but after several screen tests we were able to execute an ideal shot using a tripod. Vast areas of improvement were also made in framing composition, for example the voyeuristic shot of our villain displays an effective execution of the rule of thirds. From diverse camera angles to execution of editing we have been able to improve are skills of film making throughout. For example, complimenting the film with the correct music score was a very difficult task but after extensive experimenting and testing we were able to achieve a synchronistic soundtrack. To achieve this effective soundtrack we used the software ‘Garage Band’ this program was fairly unfamiliar to m
e before the task but through experimenting I was able to gain a substantial knowledge of the process. For the editing stage of the film we used iMovie HD 6, this software was useful for creating slick transitions and special effects. I learnt a lot about this software whilst editing our film opening and now feel I have an impressive knowledge of iMovie. For example, the effect used on our flashback scene was created by increasing the contrast then transforming the frame into black and white.
The progression from the preliminary stage to the final production piece was a large one as I learnt a lot from the technologies to attracting are audience though accurate techniques. The planning stage of the production was were I feel I developed the most by creating a strict time scale for research, filming and editing this provided us with a useful schedule to stick to. As well as feeling more confident with the use of the editing equipment I also collected a greater knowledge of camera shots and diverse framing techniques. For example, the match on action shots in our latest production shows a greater level of maturity in filming than our previous preliminary task. To conclude I feel that I have progressed in all stages of the film production and achieved a final product that created enigma, tension and entertainment whilst successfully targeting our audience.
For our final practical production piece we were asked to film and edit our own film opening in the style of a specific genre. I feel that our film opening uses and develops several conventions of real media products. We decided to after detailed research to create a film that falls into the genre of ‘Thriller’ and by using and executing a number of techniques we feel we did. In the making of our own film we re
searched a series of other thriller films and took elements of different films in order to emulate an opening with a similar style. For example, the black and white of our flashback scene was inspired by the opening fight scene in ‘Casino Royale’; thanks to our research we were able to achieve a cut-away scene with high impact. We developed the generic conventions by using effective mise en scene in our flashback scene, for example; we decided to make our villain wear a mask in the scene to create a level of enigma. We also used an effective semi-subliminal flash of the villains masked face, this was an attempt to emulate a similar effect used in the film ‘Fight Club’, this use of a flash image with a high pitched scream provided impact and a high level of enigma.By using suitable sound effects and music we were able to identify the sub-genre of horror for our film, the elements of danger and violence were emphasized by using high pitched sounds to alert the audience to upcoming tension, we feel this worked effectively as the sounds created an uneasy viewing experience which is what we wanted to achieve. I feel that influence from other films our clear in our final piece, for example during our research period we viewed a short excerpt from the film ‘Shallow Grave’ which inspired the use of diverse camera angles when filming our own burial scene, I feel that we took the correct elements from the clip and emulated it successfully in our own film opening.
By using young actors in our film opening we were able to represent the social group of youth. We achieved this through areas of mise en scene, for example our lead characters our dressed in stereotypical youthful clothing such as casual jeans and hooded sweatshirts. Our villain also fits the stereotype
of a sub-social group ‘Hoodies’ by using obvious mise en scene the villain is easily identifiable as a modern day rogue. The connotations surrounding the character with his hood up instantly creates a hostile view of the villain. This use of clothing was another clear choice for us when creating an easily identifiable killer giving us more time to progress with the narrative instead of establishing the characters.This choice of characters appeals to our target audience of particularly male teenagers as the characters are familiar to this specific social group. The use of these characters was necessary in drawing our ideal audience.
I feel that the distribution of our film would be primarily mainstream as it conveys many generic conventions of other blockbuster thrillers. Large franchise chains such as Apollo Cinemas would be a likely distributor of a film such as this. Our use of the plain white mask for our villain character creates a perfect chance for merchandising. We decided this in the research stage of our filming when looking into the film ‘Scream’ and the epic merchandising of the infamous ‘Scream’ mask. This element of merchandising provides another tier for the success of the distribution. As mentioned before, our replicates areas of ‘Casino Royale’ which was a famous blockbuster smash indicating that our film would involve a big budget premiere alongside a possible universal distribution.
As briefly discussed before, our target audience for our film opening is primarily male teenagers. We decided this after extensive research into the thriller genre and after a questionnaire based viewing of our film. We found that we received the best feedback from teenage males, indicating that we had successfully located the target audience. When concluding the evidence from our questionnaires we found that we targeted the correct audience effectively and all our techniques had been necessary in attracting our specified viewers. Once again the use of youthful actors and ‘Hoody’ stereotypes were key whilst identifying our audience, as we found that the teenage youth found these characters instantly recognisable.
Although focussing on targeting teenage males we also used elements of horror in our film that wo
uld particularly terrify males and females alike. We attracted our audience by using a number of techniques such as youthful actors and effective camera angels. For example, the over-the-shoulder shots used during the flashback scene launches the audience into the scene with several point of view shots. Although all the action is witnessed by the audience, the identity of the villain is unknown by those viewing, this level of enigma provides an incentive to carry on watching the film. This theory was supported by the questionnaire results in which 90% of the participants revealed that they would like to see the rest of the film. This was an important figure for us in being satisfied with our final product.Learning and progressing with the media technologies over this practical production piece has been necessary in achieving an effective final piece. Whilst filming for the forest scenes we faced the challenge of achieving a stable and level shot, but after several screen tests we were able to execute an ideal shot using a tripod. Vast areas of improvement were also made in framing composition, for example the voyeuristic shot of our villain displays an effective execution of the rule of thirds. From diverse camera angles to execution of editing we have been able to improve are skills of film making throughout. For example, complimenting the film with the correct music score was a very difficult task but after extensive experimenting and testing we were able to achieve a synchronistic soundtrack. To achieve this effective soundtrack we used the software ‘Garage Band’ this program was fairly unfamiliar to m
e before the task but through experimenting I was able to gain a substantial knowledge of the process. For the editing stage of the film we used iMovie HD 6, this software was useful for creating slick transitions and special effects. I learnt a lot about this software whilst editing our film opening and now feel I have an impressive knowledge of iMovie. For example, the effect used on our flashback scene was created by increasing the contrast then transforming the frame into black and white.The progression from the preliminary stage to the final production piece was a large one as I learnt a lot from the technologies to attracting are audience though accurate techniques. The planning stage of the production was were I feel I developed the most by creating a strict time scale for research, filming and editing this provided us with a useful schedule to stick to. As well as feeling more confident with the use of the editing equipment I also collected a greater knowledge of camera shots and diverse framing techniques. For example, the match on action shots in our latest production shows a greater level of maturity in filming than our previous preliminary task. To conclude I feel that I have progressed in all stages of the film production and achieved a final product that created enigma, tension and entertainment whilst successfully targeting our audience.
