Possible Prop List

Rather than the audience seeing anti-social behavior in shot (violence, swearing ect..) we have chosen to include props which can be and are associated with anti-social behavior and street violence. Because of this we have chose to include:

• Smoking
  
• Evidence that people have been drinking on the streets - broken bottles ect..
• Emergency sirens - shows that there could have been violence

Story Board

Our Story board:

Production Meeting

After hearing our feedback we discussed how we could use it to improve our idea.

We decided that we don't want our sequence to be too complicated with too much happening. We thought the more we involved in it, the more it would stray away from conventions of social realism. Instead we will have one main character and no other actors, and no other people seen in the sequence. This will keep the viewers focus on the characters behaviour, actions and what he says as he narrates.

As we have decided to base our sequence on teenage violence, by taking out all of the character who would initially have been representing violence and anti social behaviour, we realised we won't have a lot in the sequence that would tell the viewers that it is based on teenage violence. So we came up with the idea that we should use visual clues such as crushed beer cans, cigarette butts, graffiti and vandalism in the background and around where the main character walks. This would suggest that there had been some sort of disruptive behaviour happening in the area. Accompanied by the narrators thoughts and feelings on his background which involved violence, the audience will then get more of a sense of what our film will be based on.

Another thing we discussed was using music in our sequence. We decided against the idea of the main character putting headphones in, then music starting. We thought this would seem too stylized for social realism. We also thought that the kind of music we had in mind (e.g. The Streets) could speed up the pace of the sequence. It may also distract the viewers attention from what the narrator is saying which is important in our sequence. So as we decided against the soundtrack, we agreed to emphasise smaller noises such as sirens in the background, footsteps on gravel etc. to stop the sequence seeming silent and therefore being boring.

After discussing and tweaking our idea we are a lot happier with it as it is now more practical and realistic and we can imagine how the outcome will be.

Mood Board

We choose to really focus our mood board on sterotypical anti social behavior images as this is something that many social realist dramas make their story about. for example 'chav' groups, hoodies, smoking, broken or damaged public features ect...

Shot List...

• Shot One- This shot consists of an extreme close up focusing on his mouth whilst he smokes a cigarette. 10 - 20 seconds.
  
• Shot Two- This shot slowly tracks back showing a full body shot, and we can the actor throw and stamp his cigarette out, and then walk away from the camera.
  
• Shot Three- In this the camera is hand held following social realist conventions and follows him walking down a quite street ( Hearing a muffled siren).
• Shot Four- This shot shows a close up the actor walking as the camera tracks back.
• Shot Five-
  

Pitch Feeback

After pitching our idea to the class, we got feedback telling us what we can improve on and what works well. We need to:

• Think about having less characters in our sequence
• Use sounds and iconography such as signs of vandalism, graffiti, and crushed beer cans etc to suggest violence and anti social behaviour
• Put all of the viewers attention on the main character by keeping the camera on him and not having too much sound to distract the attention from what he saying as he narrates the sequence

Full Synopsis...

This is a brief overview of what our final piece may include. Our genre of focus is social realism, so we have been focusing on film openings which relate to this genre to grasp ideas in which we should include. The piece openings with an older actor, the camera mainly focused on his facial appearance as well as his surroundings, there will be a short shot of of an ipod, showing a boundary between him and the world around. Our actor will be smoking to resemble his past as a youth involved in violence and drug use.
Following on from the character smoking shot another snip it of his life will be drawn to the attention of the audience and so on and so forth in many scenarios. In the second shot the character will be casually walking down an avenue cramped with props and characters which resemble his past, these include youths hanging around outside a kebab house or throwing abuse at public passing by.

Football Factory Opening Sequence and Analysis

Analysis Of The Use Of Mise-en-scene And Editing In Sweet Sixteen

Mise-en-scene:
This sequence uses a lot of natural lighting which is a good convention of a social realist, although i am fully aware of there being staged lighting included in the sequence. Any staged lighting is either very mild lighting or highly exaggerated, for example, when there is a car at night, the lights are extremely exaggerated. Depending on the scene, the lighting changes, for example, at the beggining where the boys are in the street, the lighting is rather bright which is a big contrast to the very start where it is very dark where you can barely see anything.
The characters are dressed as a stereotypical family. There is a stereotypical chav dress type and emphasises the working class. We know this by the way they are presented in the scene. For example the boys are wearing tracksuit bottems and hats, and the way they are dressed helps us to identify what sort of person he is. The mother is in prison which shows that the family could be rough. These interpretations of the family help the spectator to identify with them and understand. It draws the spectator into the sequence to get them involved. The family beat up or bully the youngest child as he disobeyed what they were telling him to do. This shows dominace in the sequence.
The film opening is set in a village, in places that are normally busy so there is a lot of people around. For example, in a pub. As te opening gradually begins, the setting totally changes from a busy town or village to the countryside. When the boy is in the car, the camera is quite close to his face, but not enough to cover up the background, it is set in the countryside, so there is many hills and fields. The camera angles are used to put across the dominance of the characters. The closer they stand, the more dominance that character has over the rest of the characters.

Editing:
There is not much editing at all, slight sense of continuity editing but other then that, nothing is used. Continuity editing is a good convention of social realist films as they are on a low budget, therefore, have less editing. There is no computer animation or parallel editing which shows it is a low budget film. The shot durations are quite long which shows the film has little editing. The shots are long, this means that not as much editing is needed. The titles have been edited in with transitions and fades etc. Even though the shots have a long short duration, the editing is hidden as continuous editing is used which makes ti hardly visible to the spectator.

Analyses Of The Use Of Sound And Camerawork In Sweet Sixteen

Sound:

'Sweet Sixteen' by Ken Loach uses both conventional and non-conventional sound choices and techniques of Social Realist Dramas to produce this film. For example most social realist drama focus on the working and low classes, this means that the script has to fit what may be said, in what situation and to who. The stereotypical 'chav', who many would associate with the working class swears and uses a lot of bad language to put their point across. Because of this 'Sweet Sixteen' also uses a lot of swearing.

The nationality of the cast and the setting of the film is also important to the script as there may be different accents. Again the stereotypical working class family lives in big industrial cities and in the old houses provided for the factory work force. Many of these factories were built in Scotland, where the film has been set.

Loach goes completely against convention on the soundtracks which he has chosen for the film. Rather than choosing a R+B or gangster rap, which is the stereotypical of 'chav' working classes he has chosen a much slower and softer song without any heavy lyrics in more than one accession. This shows that the featured characters have a more sensitive and caring side to them as a slower music choice is seen as a higher class of people and lifestyle. This however is not always the case. 'Funny Games' by Michael Haneke focuses on a high class family on a holiday, the opening starts with classical music as they drive around the country side, next the music suddenly stops and a very heavy metal rock song starts. This song choice is something many would expect to see a 'working class' to be listening to not the 'high/upper class'.

Camerawork:

Again Sweet Sixteen goes against normal social realist drama conventions with different camera styles bring used. Most films from this drama use only hand held camera and most scenes are never static for a long period of time. Sweet Sixteen however uses only static shots (the camera is mounted on a tripod) for most of the filming using mainly mid, full and close shots. Because of the camera being static there are lots on panning shots used opposed to editing and changing the camera location which is a major characteristic of a social realist drama film.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Imagery Which Is Used In Our Title Sequence.

Here are a few images in which we want to incorporate into our title sequence to set an atmospherical tone on our piece of work.

Analysis of the American Splendor Title Sequence.

I am writing a brief analysis of the film "American Splendor" and looking at the micro and macro elements which have been incorporated into the title sequence.
The film opens with a very experimental way of introducing a film or piece of work. The lead character explains his life story and the way in which he has progressed from a basic cartoonist to developing into someone became famous through his art work. The film uses very clever techniques to draw the viewers into the main film. One of these techniques is the use of reflexive imagery. This is sown when the camera and editing cuts to showing the lead character working on the voice over for the film and showing how it is developing. This is a very clever technique and doesn't really conform to its genre type.
Imagery at the start shows viewers a different perspective on film making and draws the viewer in to a different and interesting genre type. The use of comic book introducing is a very basic but excellent way of working. The introduction shows Harvey as a young boy and shows how different he actually is compared to his friends. This is shown when Harvey is trick or treating with his friends when he comes as himself this is shown as different and not coform to his friends stereotypical view of Halloween.

Our Ident

To make our ident, we found images of fridge magnet letters from the internet. We resized and positioned them on photoshop. After importing the photoshop file into final cut we animated the letters and matched this to our chosen soundtrack (:

Idents

Professional Production Companies Indents:

The definition of a Ident is ' the practice of a production company identifying themselves on a product or projects that they have been involved in whether this be funding the making of the film or helping with the production.' The idents normally appear at the start of the film at at the very end of the credits.

Universal Pictures:

Warner Brothers:

20th (Twentieth Century) Fox

Analysis Of Title Sequence – The Royal Tenembaunas

I am going to analyses the opening title sequence to ‘The Royal Tenembaunas’

The opening sequence to my chosen film focuses on introducing the characters in the film in great depth. This is achieved in two ways, one is that the viewer is introduced to the actors playing each main role in the film which allows the viewers to become use to and comfortable with the situation and environment of the film. This is important because it will allow the audience to identify and sympathise with centres characters throughout the film. The second way which this achieved is through a narrator which tells a story of each character, this provides an in depth introduction of the character, the characters background and the way in which they have coped during their life so far. This also shows a variety in the family and the families friends. The techniques used throughout the opening title sequence of ‘The Royal Temembaunas’ could be related or used in a teenage romantic comedy or adventure. This is because as in most films from these genres each character is placed into a ‘stereotype’ group which allows them to be recognised during the film. This can be seen in my chosen film as each of the children have different interests for example: one is a sportsman (the joc), one is a business man at a very early age and very clever (the geek) and the other is a writer as well as being very cleaver who could also be described as a geek.

Analysis of Ratcatcher Opening Sequence

The film ‘Ratcatcher’ was released in 2002 and directed by Lynne Ramsay. It is a social realist drama also combined with expressionism/surrealism.
The sequence opens with a close up shot of a boy spinning round whilst wrapping himself up in a curtain. The shot is really slowed down, slow enough that you can see the separate frames. It gives a surreal effect as it is so slow that to start with it is difficult to make out what you are watching. It is accompanied by a lot of background noise, you can hear children playing and speaking in the background which also gives the opening quite a surreal effect. The sound suddenly becomes a lot louder and normal pace of action is resumed with the boy getting a slap in the head from his mother. This immediately represents social realism as it shows what it is really like in a home as it is does not appear staged at all. The lighting is natural which casts shadows on the faces of the characters and leaves parts of the room they are in slightly darker; it shows what an everyday house and person would look like. The sequence goes on to show the relationship between the mother and son. They argue over small things such as the boy not wanting his trousers tucked into his boots. It represents a normal household which allows the audience to identify with the characters.

Analysis Od American Splendor

What information does the title sequence give us about the film to come?
American Splendor - Shari Springer and Robert Pulcini 2004

American Splendor shows its opening sequence in unique way. There is an insight to the characters life as he draws himself as a comic book character. The reflection of him being himself. A comic book opening sequence is very unique but is a good way of introducing the characters as it draws the spectator in. At the beginning where Harvey is trick or treating with his friends, he goes as himself, this puts the point across of him being different to others and unique, which is what I interpret from the opening sequence. The opening is reflexive and draws attention to its own making. This is a very effective way of introducing a film and involving the spectator. Its interesting and draws you into the film. The opening sequence suggest to the spectator of it being a unique and different film. The way you see Harvey as a small child walking down the street and then it flicks to him being older and having exactly the same attitude towards life. This is a good way of representing the main themes of the film. The director has made the sequence to draw attention to the making of it.

Information On Genres

Supernatural Thriller:

The Definition of a Supernatural Thriller is ' the conflict between main characters, usually one of which has supernatural powers. This type of Thriller combines tension of the regular thriller with such basic horror oriented ingredients as ghosts, the occult and psychic phenomenon.

(www.swisscorner.com)

Examples of professional Supernatural Thrillers include:

• Ghost Rider
  
• Pulse
• The Sixth Sense
  
• Tales From The Dead

Characteristics Of A Supernatural Thriller Include:

• The characters and lighting are very dark - this hides the identies of the characters and creates suspence with many dark corners
• Involve unnatural beings - aliens and/or the dead (the supernatural)
• The story follows a set template - the characters are happy in their every day lives and jobs - something bad happens to the main characters - they do not understand what is happening - the main characters have to resolve the situation - the 'good' and main characters win
• Characters close to the main characters are either killer or harmed - parents, girl/boyfriend
  

Social Realist Drama:

The Definition of a Social Realist Drama is ' a representation of social conditions/issues - combination of documentary style and studio filming.

Examples of Professional Social Realist Dramas Include:

• Sweet Sixteen
  
• The Crowed
  
• Cathy Come Home
  
• Made For Each Other
  

Characteristics Of A Social Realist Drama Include:

• Naturalist Lighting - no studio lighting used only natural sun light, creates a real sense to the film
• Set in a home - domestic space
• no static shots - all camera are hand held, makes the viewer feel that they are involved in the scene and in the room with the actors
  
• Focus on middle/working class living and their life issues

Adventure For Younger Audiences:

The Definition of a Adventure For Younger Audiences is 'a narrative, protagonist and other major characters are consistently put in danger and that each character is forced to use their skills to over come danger and win against 'evil'

Examples of professional Adventures For Younger Audiences include:

• The Goldern Compuss
  
• Harry Potter
• The Cronicals Of Narnia
  

Characteristics Of A Adventure For Young Audiences Include:

• Heavy reliance on CGI (Computer Generated Imagery,) special effects and stunts
  
• Often have sequels made
• Exotic location (setting) - desert, jungles ect..
• Dangerous places - suggest isolation, unfamiliar setting builds suspense
• Always ends happily - a resolution, main character achieves what they set out to do (save the day)
• Tensions within the group - friends don't like each other, tensions always resolved in the end
  
• Often orchestral music used
  

Teenage Romantic Comedy:

The definition of a Teenage Romantic Comedy is 'a narrative, structured stereotypical representations of teenage life and love.'

Examples of professional Teenage Romantic Comedy's include:

• High School Musical
  
• American Pie
  
• She's All That
  

Characteristics Of A Teenage Romantic Comedy Include:

• Set in an American High School
  
• Main characters just started at the school
  
• Main characters start very unpopular but at the end of the film are very popular - become accepted in different groups
• Often a black character provides comedy
  
• Big difference between different groups in the school - 'joc' character, muscle, jacket - 'Geek' glasses, likes education
  
• Main characters resolve the narrative and fall in love - always a happy ending
  

Crime:

The definition of a Crime film is ' involves one or more crimes carried out by main characters in full view of spectator.'

Examples of professional Crime Film include:

• Italian job
  
• Oceans 11 and 12
• The Dark Knight
• Chinatown
  

Characteristics Of Crime Films Include:

• Main characters each have a skill that they bring to the crime gang
• Main character is often the biggest Hollywood star and gets the most screen time
  
• Conflict between two big rival gangs
  
• Throughout the film there is always threat that the 'good' gang will be caught - 'good' because you want them to succeed in they job.
• Shot duration matches the action - Continuity editing