In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In our group, Chloe Esther and i had to brainstorm some ideas for our film pitch. At first we had an idea for a fantasy/ quest film. This all changed when we realised and decided a teen drama would be more suited to us. Our title sequence is a narrative. It outlines our storyline of the film in 2 minutes.
As a group we sat down and analysed title sequences based on the Teen/Drama/Romance genre and made a list of things that they had in common so that we could include these things into our own title sequence. I found that narrative title sequences were very popular amongst these genres and we realised as a group that is what was best for our film idea. From analysing these title sequences, we also discovered that the music that was in the background was mostly accoustic and upbeat. We also considered a voice over for the title sequence as many films of these genres include voice overs.
Monday 28 April 2014
Typography
Today in class miss alm showed us why the fonts that are used in a title sequence is important. The fonts contribute to the feel of the film.
Sans Serif: fonts without serifs (the edgy bits) at the end of strokes, these fonts are commonly associated with western/FBI/police films.
Serif: fonts are the opposite; fonts with serifs at the edge.
The first title sequence we looked at was the 'Catch me if you can' title sequence.
The first title sequence we looked at was the 'Catch me if you can' title sequence.
We found that the typography had an almost fluid feel to it. Each title was very smooth. There was constant movement almost fluid like which we could infer could represent the main character in the film who is sly and smooth. The title sequence is narrative, something i would like to discuss with my group about. The main character always appears to be changing his identity, he is smooth and nobody notices what he is doing. Throughout the title sequence the main character is seen in many different occupations, suggesting he is always moving and always changing. The font used is also a Sans serif. it is also noteable that this title sequence has been influenced by Saul Bass as there are alot of straight lines used to fit into the scene, which is similar to what Saul Bass does.Lord Of War. http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/lord-of-war/
In this title sequence the names of the big stars and the main crew are focused to the centre and the other cast & crew are not as noticeable as they are put to the side. We also noticed that the writing is white and fairly small, this means that it is not the main focus, when we watched it we all found ourselves focusing on the story of the bullet in the background and not what the text was saying. The text itself is also in capital letters which suggests the seriousness of the film.Th next and last title sequence we looked at was 'Forrest Gump' http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/forrest-gump/
Throughout this entire sequence the names were centred, this shows that is what the audience is supposed to be focusing on. The font used is a serif font, this suggests the film is set in the past as serif fonts are associated with the past and old newspapers. The background is also not too busy so it is easy to read. There is also a very gentle feeling to the sequence, the fact that there is also a feather floating around in the background makes this calm and gentle than the other two sequences we watched.Perks of being a wallflower analysis.
The Perks of being a wallflower is a film based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky. It is about a 15 year old boy called Charlie. Charlie is an outsider in high school and struggles to make friends, especially after the suicide of his best friend & trying to cope with mental illness, this is until 2 seniors (Sam & Patrick) take him under their wing and help welcome him to the real world.
The reason I have chose to analyse this titlesequence is because some of the genres featured are similar to ones we are using in our film, for example, Romance & Drama.
The first thing we see in the title sequence is the production companies names (Summit entertainment).
We then see a black screen with 'summit entertainment presents' in typewriter font, in the background there is also the noise of someone typing on a typewriter, this suggests that the main character enjoys writing and maybe aspires to be a writer. This also suggests that a typewriter is going to be a key feature in the film, and something we can expect to see alot of. This is followed by 'a mr. mudd production', this is still sticking to the typewriter font & sound.
The next thing to appear are the stars names. This may make the audience think of previous films these actors have been in and what their characters might be like and how different they may be compared to other films they have seen with this actor in it.
The song 'Could it be another change?' by The Samples begins to play as the title appears. I think this song was chosen because the film is about being a 'wallflower' (a wallflower is a shy or unpopular individual who doesn't socialize or participate in activities at social events) and by choosing a song that isn't popular goes along with the theme of the film. The title of the song also matches the film. Throughout the film the main character Charlie goes through alot of changes and discovers alot about himself, therefore the title of the song is extremely appropriate to what the film is about.
The title then fades into blackness and we begin to see moving lights, we can almost immediately assume these are in a tunnel. The fact that this location is featured suggests that it features once again in the film and is a key part for the audience to recognise. Later in the film we find out this location is of some importance to the 3 main characters and has an awful lot of meaning. The travelling through the tunnel continues as names of cast and crew appear on the screen in the typewriter font.
After several shots of the tunnel we are met with darkness and then a reflection of the main character, Charlie, in a window. We then hear Charlie speaking, it is obvious from the start that he is writing a letter to someone, however we arent sure who, this is something that as an audience we will never find out. We find out alot about Charlies character after a few seconds of hearing him. We discover that he has spent time in hospital, has very little self-confidence and is quite introverted. We then find out it is Charlies first day at high school the next day, this tells us is he around 14/15 years old. There is then a shot of charlie in the school hallway, this is where the title sequence ends, from this short amount of time we have been able to learn alot about Charlie and who he is.
The reason I have chose to analyse this titlesequence is because some of the genres featured are similar to ones we are using in our film, for example, Romance & Drama.
The first thing we see in the title sequence is the production companies names (Summit entertainment).
We then see a black screen with 'summit entertainment presents' in typewriter font, in the background there is also the noise of someone typing on a typewriter, this suggests that the main character enjoys writing and maybe aspires to be a writer. This also suggests that a typewriter is going to be a key feature in the film, and something we can expect to see alot of. This is followed by 'a mr. mudd production', this is still sticking to the typewriter font & sound.
The next thing to appear are the stars names. This may make the audience think of previous films these actors have been in and what their characters might be like and how different they may be compared to other films they have seen with this actor in it.
The title then fades into blackness and we begin to see moving lights, we can almost immediately assume these are in a tunnel. The fact that this location is featured suggests that it features once again in the film and is a key part for the audience to recognise. Later in the film we find out this location is of some importance to the 3 main characters and has an awful lot of meaning. The travelling through the tunnel continues as names of cast and crew appear on the screen in the typewriter font.
Codes and conventions of a teen drama.
The genre of the film we are going to be creating a title sequence for is Romance/Teen drama.
Some of the key codes and conventions of a Romance film are exploration of love at first sight, unrequited love, forbidden love, obsessive love, tragic love, etc. Romance usually is coupled with drama in a lot of TV series and film. The film idea that we had ties in with this genre through the use of, love at first sight and eventually tragic love. We had to make it a Teen/romance drama because our audience and cast in the film would be Teens aged 13-17. Romantic films allow the audience to escape for a while and allows them to imagine themselves as having a love like the characters on screen, it usually ends that the characters live a 'happily ever after' or declare their love for each other after years of ignoring it.
From watching a few title sequences the colours pink and red are usually used. This may also show that they are percieved as feminine films, the target audience for romance is usually largely female.
Most romance title sequences have a backing soundtrack of an acoustic guitar. This is something we have discussed to include in our title sequence.
Some other things that feature in romantic/teen drama title sequences are that main characters usually have something about them that is different or seen as a disadvantage. This is key within most title sequences, but in a romance drama title sequence you come to understand and know the characters. By the time the film starts usually you would know a little about them. This is something we have discussed and would like to include in our title sequence. We would like the audience to feel a connection with the main characters and feel like they know them and is someone they could be friends with by the time our title sequence is over.
Our genre also falls under 'teen drama'. A teen drama is a type of drama that mainly focuses on the lives of teenagers and the teenage characters. Typically a character who is an underdog is the main character, the character could be a new student to the school or is considered by most of the students as an unpopular person. This is the main issue and the idea that 'love conquers all' comes into play and all is resolved in the end. This gives the audience an idea of how that character feels and allows us to see the film from that characters perspective. In a teen drama title sequence there is usually music playing in the background. This is either upbeat or acoustic guitars/slower music. Music always plays a big part in a teen drama film, it will also play a big part in our title sequence.
Some of the key codes and conventions of a Romance film are exploration of love at first sight, unrequited love, forbidden love, obsessive love, tragic love, etc. Romance usually is coupled with drama in a lot of TV series and film. The film idea that we had ties in with this genre through the use of, love at first sight and eventually tragic love. We had to make it a Teen/romance drama because our audience and cast in the film would be Teens aged 13-17. Romantic films allow the audience to escape for a while and allows them to imagine themselves as having a love like the characters on screen, it usually ends that the characters live a 'happily ever after' or declare their love for each other after years of ignoring it.
From watching a few title sequences the colours pink and red are usually used. This may also show that they are percieved as feminine films, the target audience for romance is usually largely female.
Most romance title sequences have a backing soundtrack of an acoustic guitar. This is something we have discussed to include in our title sequence.
Some other things that feature in romantic/teen drama title sequences are that main characters usually have something about them that is different or seen as a disadvantage. This is key within most title sequences, but in a romance drama title sequence you come to understand and know the characters. By the time the film starts usually you would know a little about them. This is something we have discussed and would like to include in our title sequence. We would like the audience to feel a connection with the main characters and feel like they know them and is someone they could be friends with by the time our title sequence is over.
Our genre also falls under 'teen drama'. A teen drama is a type of drama that mainly focuses on the lives of teenagers and the teenage characters. Typically a character who is an underdog is the main character, the character could be a new student to the school or is considered by most of the students as an unpopular person. This is the main issue and the idea that 'love conquers all' comes into play and all is resolved in the end. This gives the audience an idea of how that character feels and allows us to see the film from that characters perspective. In a teen drama title sequence there is usually music playing in the background. This is either upbeat or acoustic guitars/slower music. Music always plays a big part in a teen drama film, it will also play a big part in our title sequence.
Thursday 20 March 2014
Filming in School
Filming in school was difficult because the people we needed to be in it had different time tables and chloe belongs to erith school so she cant always be here to film during free periods. Also the male protagonist in our film, Greg is year 13 and also has a different timetable to our year. we managed to film little parts today but we need to reshoot some parts and shoot some more shots that we did not have the time to shoot. Esther will upload the clips on the computer in school and we will start editing.
Feedback from Class.
In class today we watched each others and our own title sequence. This gave us the chance to see how other people had done theirs and allowed us to have them comment on our title sequence in order for us to improve it. Our title sequence was the weakest out of all of the others so we have quite a lot to improve. But at least we can fix the problems highlighted to us by other members of our class more efficiently now.
Problems that were more commonly pointed out were:
- Fonts/ Colour/ Style Positioning/ Difficult to read (This point was the most frequently made.)
- Unclear Storyline
- Editing needs a lot of work
- Length of some of the clips
I dont think our title sequence works particularly well. The fonts used were not the selected colour or style that the people picked on the survey. This was because when it was edited the survey was disregarded.
Our main character.
The main character in our film is a teenage girl in her last years of secondary School, she is quite a popular girl and gets along with everyone in the school. In her spare time she listens to music and likes to spend alot of time with her friends watching movies and just talking, when shes not with he friends she likes to sepnd her time on social media websites and watching her favouite tv shows.
Her sense of style is different and can be even considered as alternative but she is a very care-free person and does what she wants. She wears alot of tshirts made by her favourite bands and tv shows on and very rarely follows any fashion trends there may be. She also wears skinny jeans and owns several pairs all in different colours. She also owns many, many pairs of converses and likes to wear a different pair everyday. She also tries to change her nail varnish colour very week.
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