Shot List...

In our opening sequence, we are going to use a variety of different camera shots. here is a list of the ones we are going to use:

- Medium Shot: This is when the camera is around 3-5 metres away from the characters. We decided this would be a good shot to use because we can include all the characters we want to in the shot, and you can still make out their faces clearly.

- Long Shot: This is when the characters are far away from the camera, and sometimes you can't make out their faces, just their figures. We wanted to include this type of shot as it will show the characters, and it will also show the background, and the setting of where they are.

- Close-up: This is when the camera focuses on one thing, normally a persons face. We decided to include some close-ups to show the audience the characters faces clearly.

- Split Scene: This is when the scene divides in to two or more different pictures in the same scene, to try and show the audience separate events at the same time. We have included this type of shot so we can show the audience what Rosie and Tom are both doing at the same time.

- Extreme Close-up: This is when the camera focuses on one object or facial feature, eg an eye. We wanted to include this so the audience can focus only on the thing shown.

- Over the shoulder shot: This is when the camera shows someone or something, with a characters shoulder in the side of the shot. We have included this shot so we can include Rosie and Tom in the same scene without them being close.

Our Moodboard

Our moodboard is a collage of images together. We put in it typical factors that are in a British Socialist realist drama. Alcohol, housing estates, drugs, sometimes domestic violence, drugs, fighting and school/college life. These are all of the factors that are going to be in our Film. In our film Tom is going to start abusing Rosie because he is hooked on drugs. And Rosie has also got hooked on drugs. So we got two pictures of Domestic Violence and Drugs. Unlike a lot of British socialist realist drama's we are going to take out a lot of the home life and show what happens to the teenagers when there away from home and focus more on the school/college life. This will show what there like when there completely independent. A lot of teenagers drink and smoke so i got a picture of a varitey of different alcohol brands, and when people are fueled with alcohol they become violent and abusive so i got a picture of some fighting aswell. This is why we chose the images we did.

Feedback;

One group described our idea as being original, this was good because we wanted our idea to be original because there are a lot of this type of genre films around which are very similar. When we were analyzing our film introductions which fitted in with our genres, we wanted to take some of the idea but without it being too similar to those that are already around. We also got told that our it portrays' people's problems well this is also good because we wanted to get peoples problems across this was one of our main aims as normally issues like the ones in our film are seen as taboo subjects. At the time when we presented our work our mood board was not uploaded, this caused us some problems when presenting because we had to describe what was on it with no visual aid.

Our Logo, Sparks Production

We got our logo idea from brainstorming company names. We thought that we could come up with a name that was to do with Fireworks; this then lead us to the idea of Sparks-Production. We then got an image of some water at nighttime and placed a picture of Fireworks over it. We wanted to create a colourful logo that people would remember and associate with the two words Sparks and Production. Our logo has a variety of colours in it, and alongside with the water and the stars it create quite a picturesque, mystical environment.

Mood Board Analysis of Mise en Scene

We have created a mood board showing the different elements of mise en scene we want to feature in our film opening. We have included a picture of a house. We think we should have the main characters home involved because it sets a scene which people can get used to and which the audience keeps coming back to. It also shows what the main character's home life is like, and shows what class they are, e.g. working class, middle class. Showing the audience her home introduces her family. We also thought alcohol would be a good element of mise en scene to include as most British social realist dramas feature it. It is a big part of youth, and it means we can create some of the characters as alcoholics. We have put a photo of fighting in our mood board because it is going to be a strong feature of our sequence. Violence is a strong feature of British social realist dramas. Violence we want to feature includes domestic violence towards Rosie, which again is a strong feature of this genre of this film. We have included a photo of a school in our mood board because this creates another main setting for the film, and shows the age of the characters.

Analysis of Kidulthood

The opening of this film is mainly focusing on a teenager who is being bullied by other students at her school. This is a very typical convention of a British social realist drama. It is filmed in a school which is a typical choice of social groups and cliques. There are many stereotypical types of people, for example girls that only obviously care about their looks all huddled together, boys in big coats all talking under their breath to each other etc. The girl who is being bullied looks like a very normal girl, which emphasises that anyone could be a victim. this is alot like our opening sequence, as Rosie is a normal girl who is being victimised for no reason. The actors have London accents which is an obvious accent for a British person to have and probably the first one that people think of. A boy is going round the school asking people to go to his party which is another typical convention of a British film, and a stereotypical view of teenagers.

Analysis of This is England

The opening for this film shows many different events that have taken place in England in the past, for example, Princess Diana's wedding. Most of them either relate to the Royal family, political issues or war and violence. These images give the audience an impression of what England is like. The music being played in the background is called 'Louie Louie' by Toots and the Maytals. It is a Jamaican song which sounds quite relaxed, and is a contrast to what is being shown in the scenes. It's a typical song that a British person would like. The credits are shown in the corner so that they don't distract the audience from whats being shown in the scenes. The text is white and very simple. Throughout the credits there are little video clips of celebrities, e.g. the Royal Family, doing silly things, for example there is a woman in the very beginning of the credits in nice clothes and then with a hat on, which looks quite funny. There is also a clip of a video game, which shows that this clip dates back quite far as it is bad quality on an old tv. It shows that the programme wont be just about things in the present.

Research on logos

We decided to go on to you tube and onto google to get some images of some popular logos and to watch some which appear at the beginning of films. Firstly we looked at the 'walt disney' logo, this is because walt disney is a very popular film production. The walt disney logo is a simple design, which just by the logo you can tell that the film is going to be aimed at a younger audience, this is because of the 'fun' font which it uses. The logo is not just plain black, it also appears in multicolour. The castle which features in the logo gives the audience an idea that it is a fairytale type film because castles feature in films such like this. As well as the logo appearing as a still image it also appears at the start of the film as a moving image. During this the castle which is features appears slowly, lighting up from the top to the bottom; this adds to the magical idea which is being portrayed. The music is very dramatic and entertaining, it has a happy element too it which is good because the films always have a happy ending because they are aimed at children.

We then chose to analyse the warner bros logo, this is because it is another logo which appears at the beginning of films so we thought it would help us in designing ours. As this appears at films such as; the matrix. These films do not have a specific genre unlike the walt disney logo. This logo is simple, using two simple primary colours, there neutral so not implying anything, this is because warner bros produce films for all different genres, so there is no need to try and give an impression to an audience. It is a simple shape, however it is still effective as being a well known popular logo.

Spy Kids; Island of Lost Dreams part 1 commentary

The first image we get is the camera moving towards a theme park. The image is colourful and bright, taking full advantage of the fact that colour interests children. There are people of all ages, families almost, with various props e.g. balloons, hats and the big cartoon cut out of the theme park's mascot. These images are exactly what you would find in a real theme park and they have chosen to do this to make it more realistic, contradicting the fact that the film is to do with an unrealistic family that have to save the world. The crowd soon clears so we are moving closer towards the circle around a little girl in a stereotypical pink dress, as we later find out is the presidents daughter. The camera then zooms into a few seconds shot of the Press' cameras flashing to take photos of the little girl. The girl is happy to be smiling and waving into the camera which shows she is used to it and used to all the attention. The camera zooms out to show a tall man looking down, as the camera does a low shot, as if from a child's point of view. The Press' cameras all turn to take photos of the man and the camera zooms back into him again. Behind the man is the rollercoaster that is so high it would usually make most children feel frightened. As the camera is a low shot, it accentuates how big the rollercoaster is and makes it seem a lot bigger. The girl agrees to go on it, showing she is brave and willing to show off, wanting the cameras back on her. The shot then goes straight to a rollercoaster that goes straight into the air, and is again a low shot, showing the man as taller than he really is, meaning to be dominant and more powerful. The rollercoasters we are being shown throughout this scene are all fake and made out to be frightening. They would never appear in real theme parks and this shows that the film has some element of non-realism in it.

Conventions of different genres

TEENAGE ROMANTIC COMEDY
- A main female role
- A main male role
- A problem which needs to be solved
- Romance; between the main females and male roles
- Comedy
- Love triangles
- Secrets
- Lies
- A happy ending or cliffhanger onto the sequal
- A place of education, e.g School

BRITISH SOCIAL REALIST DRAMA
- Hand held camera work
- A stereotypical working class family
- A Taboo subject eg; racism

Casino Royale...film opening analysis

I think that the opening for the action film 'Casino Royale' is particularly good, as it attracts the audiences attention and leaves them wanting to watch the rest of the film. The sequence begins on an empty street at night and includes a low angle shot looking up at a building, which the audience immediately assumes will be important in the next part of the film. the darkness and emptiness of the setting creates tension for the viewer. In the first few seconds, a car drives towards the building and then stops outside, which tells the audience the character in the car will be an important one in the rest of the film as well as the building shown. The car is black which follows on with the darkness theme which already exists. Some text reading 'PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC' appears at the bottom left hand corner of the shot. This establishes the setting and the location for the next scene. Another low angle shot shows a man getting out of the car and shutting the door; which is the first sound we hear in this scene. This is a low shot and the lighting is mostly dark but is illuminating the mans face. The light also illuminates the scenery behind the man so we can make out it is a row of flats/offices/just tall buildings. As the man walks away from the camera, the shot goes straight to the building that was behind the man. The shot is a low shot, and shows the man in the lift that is going upwards from the camera. There is then a close up of the mans face with half of it in light, half in darkness. This represents that the man has two sides to him and subconciously we think this. As the lift is still getting higher, we look at it from slightly above. The man looks undisturbed and calm as the camera is still on a close up and viewing the lift from above, therefore showing the building as if it is going down. Numbers then appear on the screen as it is the lift going up and this creates suspense. There is a long shot showing the man walking towards something and the shot includes machinery and a narrow walkway. The same man then walks into a room that is dark, but the light that is coming in is causing shadows on the objects in them, making them look bigger and overpowering. The man again is been shot in a close up and the light is again illuminating half of his face. The darkness of the room makes the audience focus on the characters. There is then a flashback to one of the characters who is in the room, and another man who is not. They are in a toilet cubicle fighting which makes the audience wonder why they are fighting, and who the other man is. The other man then gets killed. When the flashback is over, we go back to the other room where the two characters are. One of them points a gun at the other one which created suspense for the audience. Then the man who was pointing the gun gets shot, which is a shock for the audience, no one saw it coming.