Year 12 Trip to the BFI || Part One

Today, my media class took a trip to the London BFI for a film conference on UK cinema, audiences, and institutions. It was packed day full of interesting facts and I believe that I, as well as my class, learnt a lot from it.

We first had a talk on audiences and institutions. We learnt that many films will be watched by a UK audience if there are familiar characters and situations which the audience can relate to, the film is full of 'Britishness', being marginally stereotypical and reaching out towards the UK's patriotic pride. They also like crowd pleasers and films that have had film nominations, being full of glamorisation, spectacle, escapism, adrenaline and catharsis. We then compared the expectations and preferences of a UK audience to an American audience. It showed that alike to a UK audience, the American audiences loves historical and literary figures, crowd pleasers and films that are award nominees, as well as portraying the subcultures and spectacle, escapism, adrenaline and catharsis. It also showed that American audiences like to have characters alike to contemporary celebrities or royalty. For instance, the Americans love British novels such as Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. They have now gone and made a film out of the spoof novel 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'.

We also looked at films which are considered to be UK films such as 'The Man from UNCLE', 'The Imitation Game' and 'The Avengers'. 

We then evaluated how British the film 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' was. Ideas that I noted down were that it appealed to a young adult audience, it combined elements of the UK such as the lower class and upper class and that it was full of adrenaline and patriotism.

We then looked at the film 'A Royal Night Out' which would have appealed to a UK audience due to its historic and patriotic themes. This would have also appealed to an American audience as well as being full of characters that were part of royalty and links to Americas origins from the UK. This film fitted under the heritage category, meaning that it would stereotypically have a museum aesthetic.

After this, we looked at a film which came under the category of social realism called 'The Selfish Giant'. This means that it would be critical of British life, challenge the comfort zones of day to day life as well as portraying an explicit, dark side of human nature. I noted down that the film would appeal to a UK audience as it was full of colloquial terms, had links to the lower classes of people such as gypsies. It was also dark and serious, exposing the harsh reality of the UK as not as posh and peaceful as many people believe. It would also appeal to an American audience as it is full of catharsis (emotional intensity) and marginalised groups are represented.

We took a look at 'The Woman In Black'. This film fitted under the horror category meaning that stereotypically it is traditionally gothic. It would appeal to a UK audience as it is full of adrenaline and horror, as well as being influenced by national pride and containing patriotic, historical edwardian/victorian elements which fit well under the gothic genre. It would also appeal to an American audience as it was a successful novel and screen play in both the UK and America as well as being a crowd pleaser.

We finally took a look at the film 'One Day' which fits under the urban fairytale rom-com category. This means that is a romantic comedy and that it is stereotypically about a close group of friends who don't immediately get on before the film transforms into a love story and throws obstacles at the romantic relationship within urban life.

Even More Film Openings

Recently, I have been attempting to finish my film opening called 'Black Sands'. After having looked at the film opening from 'The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials' I decided to take a look at other film openings which I like and have compared 'Black Sands' to.

Firstly, I looked at the 'Kingsman' film opening. I like how in it the credits role off with the rubble of the building under fire. I also like how the camera continues to surge forwards past the film company title as if the audience are part of what is happening. Although this is nothing like my film opening it is interesting to contrast two different action films together to emphasise just how different they are.

I then compared it to 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. A similarity in both my 'Black Sands' opening and 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is that both use dull tones such as grey, blue and pale brown however the use of the bright credits introduces the comic element of the film as well as the accompanied song 'Come and get your Love'.

After that, I looked at 'Dark Shadows'. Immediately I noticed the same dull colours that are used in film openings such as 'Guardians of The Galaxy' and 'The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials', as well as my own film opening: 'Black Sands'. 'Dark Shadows' and 'Black Sands' also use simple pale titles which I think is effective as it does not attract the direct attention of the audience yet the viewer is aware of the credits being there which I think is very clever. 

Now, before I explain the similarities between 'Rush' and 'Black Sands' I would like to point out that I am not a fan of F1. When my family wanted to watch it I decided to give it a shot and was actually very impressed with the filming and the overall film in general. Again, it uses a cold tone filter but I think that is very effective and sets the scene - which is what I hope it will do for 'Black Sands'. The distant voiceover of the different radio and television presenters is effective for this film however I do not believe that it would be suitable for my film due to it's storyline. However, I am still debating whether or not to add the original voiceover I had planned at the start of my coursework or the newest one.

Now it is back to my editing software to continue with 'Black Sands'...

Further Studies Of Film Openings

If you follow my blog you will know that I am a big fan of the Maze Runner series. Recently the opening scene of the second movie, The Scorch Trials was put on YouTube (and can be seen above). 

I love the use of the mainly black and blue filter that this sequence from the film was put through. I noticed that there are a lot of horror conventions at the start of the opening. For instance the close up of the dog barking or the use of the chain fence which is brought in front of the camera making the audience feel boxed in or trapped. I also love the use of the muffled diegetic sound yet the use of the clear non-diegetic soundtrack is also very effective. 

Overall, I think this a interesting take on a film opening. It follows the traditional flashback convention however it also coexists within dream and reality. I also like the idea of the introduction to a key character (the blonde woman) so early in film because it emphasises that she will return or that she has a key part to play later in the film. I would like to think that an introduction such as this would be like the one I have planned for the character of Ruth.

Changes Within 'Black Sands'

Whilst filming my short film opening 'Black Sands' I had a few ideas which have marginally changed the way the film opening will look. I have heard many times in interviews with film directors that films don't always go to plan as you had predicted them to at the start of filming. This is definitely what I have encountered.

The first thing I thought that would be interesting is what if I set this in the past instead of the future. I think this would give it a new twist because I would like to set it in 2014. This is because it would be fresh in the audience's memories - having only happened two years ago - and would make more sense with the character's clothing styles.

Secondly, I have changed the beginning to before the title as if the three main characters (Skadi, Rowena and Alys) are being watched by someone...aka Black Sands!

Also, I have had to change the script for my characters. Although this was a set back whilst filming I think we have managed to overcome it very well. I have decided to get rid of the monologue at the beginning of the film. Even though it sounded good during my planning, it did not sound right when I tested it over the film opening itself. Instead I have come up with the idea of another person talking. It would be a short piece of dialogue but this also meant the introduction of a new character. After some research I came to the conclusion that I was going to use a new powerful female character as the person speaking. I wanted it to sound mysterious but I also wanted the audience to know that she was a highly ranked woman within Black Sands. I took my main inspiration from two specific characters being: Ava Paige from the Maze Runner Series and Lorelei Singh from The 100. However it did not mean the introduction of just one character but of two! This was because I liked the idea of whilst Black Sands is watching the characters to have a highly positioned operative talking to a colleague or a lower down worker who will do her bidding.

I then set out to develop these two characters. I decided that the high positioned woman (who I named Ruth) would be very self-confident and seemingly without fear of what her actions might bring. Whereas, the other character I liked the idea of being ranked lower than herself (who I named Tris). I soon wrote the dialogue and it turned out as something like this:

Ruth: Has the patient been vetted?

Tris: Well enough

Ruth: Then we mustn't keep his family waiting. They must be dying for him to return.

So now it's back to editing the film opening...

My Film Ident

Recently I purchased the editing software 'Motion' after having bought 'Final Cut Pro' in late December 2015. I decided that I really wanted to explore my creative skills and looked through the effects that I could work with in motion. It was tremendous fun to have all these new effects at my fingertips but I decided to go with something basic yet effective.

I have yet to find music for my ident and I am in the process of deciding whether it will have an iconic tune over it such as 20th Century Fox or if it will just merge in with the soundtrack for the actual film production.

I had originally decided to go for a production name that I had used when I first started making videos on iMovie. However I found the name 'Gold Leaf Productions' too long to read or pronounce for a quick film ident. I wanted something that would fit in with my first ever proper film opening. After a serious amount of thought and debating with my target audience over a good and catchy name I came up with 'Exile Productions'.

So for now, it's back to my laptop for some more editing...

Further Analysis Of Title Sequences

Recently I have been looked at film openings having now almost finished my two minute film opening 'Black Sands' and am now in the editing process. I decided to take a look at some further films which I have seen or I have heard were good and observe what opening credits they use.

Firstly I looked at the opening sequence of the film 'Crave'. I have not watched this film but whilst looking briefly at the film openings and the nine frame analysis early on in the course I watched the opening. I liked how everything seemed clockwork and animated but I am not taking any inspiration from that. I looked at the credits that were used: screenplay by, story by, produced by, director of photography, edited by and casting by...

This was interesting because my research beforehand with 'The 100' had only showed: starring, guest starring, produced by and executive producers. This therefore gave me some new options as to what I could use in my credits.

The film 'Crimson Peak' similarly had the director first before the film editor, further listing who the music was by, who did the special effects, introducing the cast and then showing the production company before the main title. I could see that this had links with 'Crave' as it seemed to portray the director early on before making its way down slowly to the cast. However, it did show the production company unlike 'Crave' and 'The 100'.

Next, I went on to look at the 2009 interpretation of the English classic 'Sherlock Holmes'. Having watched this film, I know that the credits are fast paced and I find the writing slightly hard to read even though it can be identifiable. From this I decided to use a font that would be easy to read for my target audience. 'Sherlock Holmes' uses the credits: screenplay by, executive producers, co-producer, title, cast, music produced by, music by, visual effects by and production company. In this, I liked the idea of having the screenplay and executive producers before the main title before having the cast follow after the title along with the music and other titles before finishing with the film production company.

I finally took a look at a film which I have had inspiration from for my project since the beginning: 'Moon'. In this example, the actor to portray the protagonist is shown first in the credits before the title of the film. This is then followed by the remaining cast before showing other positions such as: make-up and hair designer, editor, co-producer and director. I like these film credits because they seem simple and are easy to read.

Now it's back to my editing software to continue editing 'Black Sands'.

Pictures from the website Art of the Title

Film Experience - Handmaid's Tale Documentary

In English, we have been studying 'The Handmaid's Tale' and were recently challenged with making a documentary on the traditions and life in Gilead, the fictional city in which the novel is based. After a lot of research, stress and experimenting with my new editing software this is the final product.

Filters and Colouring (The 100 Season 3)

As anyone who follows this blog knows, I am a massive fan of the television series 'The 100'. The trailer for Season 3 was released last month (December 2015) and, having now almost finished filming my film opening, I decided to have a look at how they have filtered the shots within the trailer.

One thing that I picked up was that the clips seem to be filtered into a dull tone with common colours such as blue, dusty gold and grey. These add a serious atmosphere and makes it also seem cold and harsh. This has inspired me to experiment with my clips to try and capture the same sort of tones in my film opening. 

Title Sequence Timeline

Having now filmed my two minute film opening 'Black Sands', I thought that I should now start looking at title sequences of some of the films that have really influenced me throughout the creative process of 'Black Sands'.

One of the biggest dystopian films and television programs that has really influenced me is 'The 100'. I'm a big fan - and have been since I saw the advert on E4 which I originally found very annoying - and something that I love about the first episode in the first season is the part when one of the main characters called Clarke Griffin breaks out of her prison cell and starts monologuing. The idea of having a monologue at the beginning is an idea that I have taken and decided to use in 'Black Sands'.

The opening starts with the introduction of Clarke in her cell drawing on the floor. It then goes on to set the scene and the monologue explains the situation of the characters. 

However, after looking at this scene, I noticed that the credits are not seen even though the clip is just over two minutes long. I therefore went on and looked at the scene straight after this one and found the credits. 

00:12	The first credits appear: ‘Starring Eliza Taylor’
00:16	‘Paige Turco’
00:20	‘Thomas McDonell’
00:24	Instead of following the pattern of a credit every four seconds, the sequence is paused to focus on Clarke asking Wells why he is on the drophsip
00:26	Another credit is shown: ’Eli Goree’
00:40	Between 00:26 and 00:40 there are no credits, making the audience focus on the 100 prisoners inside the dropship and the ship itself entering the Earth’s atmosphere
00:41	The credits restart: ‘Marie Avgeropoulos’
00:43	The credit pattern decreases to every two seconds: ‘Bob Morley’
00:45	The audience is made to focus on the Chancellor’s speech as the credits halt again
00:49	Credits return: ‘Kelly Hu’
01:00	During the eleven second gap between the credits, the audience is again meant to focus on the Chancellor’s speech and the reaction of the 100 prisoners
01:03	‘Devon Bostick’
01:06	‘With Isaiah Washington’
01:22	During the nineteen second pause of credits, the audience is supposed to focus on the people’s reaction on the Ark and take in the new perspective on the 100 prisoners being launched towards the Earth
01:35	‘Guest Starring Terry Chen’
01:44	‘Richard Harmon, Sachin Sahel, Alessandro Juliani’
01:51	Producer is credited: ’Produced by Jae Marchant’
01:54	Executive producers are credited: ‘Executive Producers Leslie Morgenstein & Gina Girolamo’
02:03	‘Executive Producer Dharat Nalluri’
02:08	‘Executive Producer Jason Rothenberg’

Film Experience - See What We're Made Of

So this is probably the last video I will ever edit on iMovie. Over the Christmas period I purchased Final Cut Pro which is extremely advanced. It's taking me ages to adjust to all the weird controls but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. It's a tad annoying that I'd just figured my way around iMovie and now I'm having to figure out a whole new system but I'm pretty sure it will be worth it.

I made this video a couple of weeks ago and this time I tried to add some voiceovers in it. Adding the voiceovers was a lot more complicated than I had originally thought it would be, having to enhance the voiceover instead of having the software focus on the music as well as actually have the voiceovers match the video (that is key). 

I used a song called 'The Scorch' by the YouTuber Shelby Merry - who has a written a selection of songs for the Maze Runner series, being a fan of the book series by James Dashner. Director Wes Ball of the Maze Runner films has apparently considered using her songs but has not yet used any.

Hope you enjoyed this video and I hope these videos are improving my video editing ability...