Opening Sequence

(Coursework) come home Erin

For the part of our film opening where Erin is shown watching a "come home" plea made by her friends, we filmed a real scripted video. We had to create realistic missing posters, scripts for our dialogue and a suitable setting. We also decided to use a lower quality camera, to make it seem realistically home made.
The finished video turned out the way we wanted, although it took some time to complete it - learning the script was quite difficult, as was acting in front of the camera. As a result we have a fair few outtakes.

Coursework planning - Plot & Titles

Risk assessment

RISK                       HAZARD                       PREVENTION

Fire                       Getting burnt/                   Tie hair back, be careful generally, have water nearby
                             setting fire to nearby
                             objects  

Night time           Tripping hazard                  Use torches

Heavy                  Potential back strain           Help each other, lift with a straight back & bent knees
equipment                          

Coursework planning - Prop list

Panophobia Moodboard (coursework)

This is a series of images which represent and provide inspiration for our film opening. Collectively they capture the mood we're trying to create for Panophobia, with the images showing friendship, fire, 35mm photos and travelling.

Both of these music videos are inspiration for the montage part of our film opening - when imagining the specific way we wanted to do the montage (hand-held camera, steady shots using a tripod etc), watching these videos gave us an idea of how we want it to look.
Like the first video, we plan to use a lower quality camera (either a small digital camera or an iPhone camera) to make the footage appear more natural and less staged, as it would with a high quality camera.
The second video gave us the idea of filming in an arcade, as I personally really liked the way the colours and lights look on camera, and we all agreed it would be a place we are naturally able to have fun, which would translate well on film into a realistic performance.

Student film openings

Although I liked the different and creative ways in which this film opening displays the film titles and credits, I believe the close up shots (for instance, the shot where the music credit is shown on the laptop screen) should have been clearer - this could have been done by them checking that the camera was in focus while filming, and then checking the footage while editing.
As a whole, the opening has a clear narrative of the girl getting ready, however, it is a fairly cliche and overused way of starting a film. Additionally, the genre is not entirely clear, as nothing really happens, and the clip at the end throws it off slightly. I think it could have had a clearer genre if the clip at the end with the voice over was not included.


I thought the plot of this film opening was interesting and original, and followed a clear narrative. There was a wide range of shots used, and although the camera remained steady and in focus, I think the editing could have been done better. For example, some of the transitions from scene to scene were slow and quite jarred, and it made the whole opening feel almost clunky.
Additionally, the sound quality was fairly poor and too loud at some points.
However, I liked the way the titles were displayed on screen, and felt the blood splatter imagery fit the genre very well.
Out of all the film openings, I think this one was the highest quality, with the best plot and clearest narrative. The HD camera and sound gives it an extremely professional feel, as does the detailed set design.
Additionally, the props, setting and radio recording of Winston Churchill show the time that this is set in, and make it even more authentic.
Although I think more varying camera angles could have been used, this was overall a brilliant film opening and would get an extremely high mark.

Student film openings (mark scheme)

The mark scheme for student's film openings           

     

Low budget vs high budget institutions from Lucy Hocart

Film inspo

This video by popular vlogger Jack Harries served as inspiration for our opening credits and the end scene of our film, in particular at 1:22 into the video where he burns a piece of paper with writing on it - due to the reversal of the footage, the paper forms a whole piece again, showing the writing in full. This is what we plan to do with disposable camera photos, which will have our titles and credits written on them.

Panophobia by Amara, Lucy and Phoebe

Feedback

Clear genre, themes, message?
"Thriller/drama"
"Clear genre, interesting theme, clear message"

What is the narrative?
"Girl gone missing, friends plead for her to come home"
"Lots of enigma, very interesting story. 3 friends - one missing girl"
"Mysterious and intriguing - voice over makes it more original"

Interesting characters?
"Erin Blake, Isla Hall, Amber Hocart - 3 teenage friends, interesting"
"3 friends - don't know much about them - enigma"
"3 different characters"

Does it target the right audience?
"15+ teen drama- strong female roles - suitable for target audience"
"15+ - nothing in film that would make it unsuitable for 12a"
"15+, suits narrative"

Institution?
Film4

Any comments about the film, would you watch it, is it doable and interesting?
"Would watch it - it is doable, however shots will be difficult"
"Yes, I would watch it"

Genre Analysis

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a coming-of-age film, revolving around a 15 year old, mentally ill boy called Charlie, and his friends Patrick and Sam.
The film is set in the nineties, which can be told from the clothing the characters are wearing in the poster. You are also able to tell it is a coming-of-age story due to the characters being young.
Additionally, the young age of the characters can be told as the background looks like the wall of a high school gym.
The colours used include only a stark black against a bright lime green, and a short quote is placed directly in the middle of the poster.

The Shining is a well-known film, which enables the film poster to remain minimal, using only this iconic image of the main character, Jack, pushing his face through the door he had just axed through.
Additionally, the actual disturbing and crazed expression of Jack lets the audience know that the film is horror.
Using bright white font on a plain black background with just a little bit of red creates a very stark, bold image, and uses the bloody connotations of red to foreshadow events in the film.

(Translated) We Are The Best! is a Swedish drama film, set in Stockholm in 1982. It revolves around three 13 year old girls called Bobo, Klara and Hedvig, who start a punk band together, despite only Hedvig having musical talent.
The three young characters with their androgynous punk styles show that this film is aimed towards a target audience of people who enjoy sharing in punk culture, and younger people who are finding their own sense of style.
The drama genre can be told from the serious expressions on the girls faces, and the fairly minimal background and font.

Preliminary Task - School Musical High

Here is the finished (short) film of School Musical High. We used this for the title to make it clear that it is supposed to be a spoof of cliché musicals, specifically High School Musical.
Overall, I am happy with how it turned out, and it gave us the opportunity to try new skills in terms of editing, camera angles and matching up sound with footage.

Titles

 

Title 1 - Institutions, 00:08
Title 2 - Film title, 00:14
Title 3 - Lead actors, 00:21 - 00:37
Title 4 - Supporting actors, 00:39
Title 5 - Casting director, 00:52
Title 6 - Music by, 00:58
Title 7 - Additional music people, 01:02
Title 8 - Costume designer, 01:07
Title 9 - Editor, 01:12
Title 10 - Production designer, 01:17
Title 11 - Director of photography, 01:22
Title 12 - Executive producer, 01:26
Title 13 - Producers, 01:32
Title 14 - Screenplay by, 01:38
Title 15 - Director, 01:43

Juno evaluation

How did the filming go?
Despite some difficulty getting the exact shots we needed, filming went smoothly in terms of getting the shots we needed and using our limited locations as best we could. We managed to find places that mostly matched the original shots, and I feel overall that filming went very well.

Was your storyboard accurate?
Our storyboard (drawn by Charlotte) matched the shots we needed and gave a basic outline of the angles and distances we needed to think about while filming and matching up our own footage with the original.

What were the strengths and weaknesses in the group?
The main strength of our group was that we worked well together with no arguments, and effectively communicated our ideas and thoughts to each other. We were all punctual and came prepared with the props and costumes we needed. Our weakness was that we helped another group with their filming, so we didn't have a lot of time to film our own and had to quickly find a location for our last shot, meaning the production was slightly rushed.
Did you get all the footage you needed?
Despite leaving some of it to the last minute, yes, we got all the footage we needed. However, some clips were shorter than they should have been, so we had to slow them down in editing in order to get the correct amount of screen time.
What technical skills either camera or on premiere did you learn?  How does it compare to the original?
In terms of camera skills, we had to incorporate zoom-in shots and tracking. While editing on Premiere, I learnt how to apply effects onto footage, how to slow footage down, add in transitions and increase/decrease the footage's brightness.
Although some shots are slightly different to the original, overall I believe our version was a good enough match for people to clearly recognise the aim of our production (which was to recreate the Juno film opening).
What went well- what I learnt- what I will take with me into the next production. 
Overall, the entire production went well and gave me my first idea of what its like working in a group while filming. Additionally, it enabled me to further my editing skills and experiment with different camera angles and techniques.