Analysis of Bring It On opening.

This is the opening scene for one of the Bring It On films.

Enigma code- There is a series of questions that i asked myself throughout this scene:

• Why are they being rude when singing the song?
• Why has her clothing randomly come off?
• Why was she dreaming about this?
• Is she already in this school or is she about to start?
• Does she actually know the people in the squad personally?

Sound
The sound on this opening is a cheer leading song that everyone in the squad is singing, and it is clearly made just for this team. During the sounds there is a overlap of one of the girls singing, which shows that this is going to be one of the main characters in the film. At around 1.24 there is a fantasising sound in the background that will be non-diegetic sound as the characters would not be able to hear this as it is a build up for what is about to appear next. There beat of the soundtrack is very upbeat, as this in then more encouraging and makes you feel more about what the film is going to be about and the paste of the movie. During this opening scene there is more diegetic sounds as all the characters would be able to hear them because they are sounds and words they are all making and saying. The way there is a bell at the end of the clip shows is very ambiguous, because as they are cheerleader's and they are in a hall, this shows that they are in school, however when the clip changes and she is in bed the bell could also appear to be an alarm clock.

Editing
Throughout the opening scene there is not much editing as it is a direct clip that does not involve distraction. The only piece of editing that is involved is at the end when the girl is screaming in the hall, and then her clothing changes while she is still screaming, and then gradually the background changes to her being in her bedroom realising that in fact, what we just witnessed, is a dream.

Camera
Frames- There is a variety of frames in this opening scene, here are some examples.


- Here is a medium shot, this is so you can clearly see the characters facial expressions and emotions, but also makes it visible to see the background and the additional things going on behind the chosen character. You are also able to see the movement this character is making and slightly see the expressions going on behind and on the characters in the background.

-This is a long shot, of many of the characters. This ables you to see what is going on within the characters that is has focused on, and also the things going on in the background of this shot. This is so you can see the sequence that the cheerleaders are completing and see the way the crowd are reacting.




 - This is a close up frame shot, this is to show clearly the characters facial expressions and to focus on this. The director wants you to specifically know how this character is feeling. In this case she is feeling humiliated at what has just happened. You can see that she is screaming, and the creases in her forehead also show that she is frowning. From this alone you can tell that she is unhappy.


Movement- Throughout this scene there is a variety of camera movements. These include track, at the beginning of this there is a track movement that is going towards each of the people on the cheerleading squad to show who they are, and who is in the squad. Also there is a tilt down movement, as they are in the middle of their sequence and they walk in front of each other, therefore to get all the sequence in the shot the director made sure the camera tilted down, therefore it is then visible to see everything that is going on. When some of the cheerleaders are introducing themselves, the camera starts of as a medium shot and then zooms in to a close up, this is so you get a clear look at what the character looks like and acts like.

Angle- The angles in this opening is mainly neutral and high angle, this is so you are feel like you are in line with the characters when the camera is neutral and it makes you feel as though you are there. The high level angle is to show the whole squad in the shot. This is initially used to show weakness, and for the upcoming shot this is right. There is a series of angles that are shown in a high angle, which shows that there is something bad coming up.

Mise-En-Scene-
Costume- The costume throughout this scene is all in cheerleading outfits, this shows that they are part of the squad and still go to school. The whole squad is matching colours, all the girls are wearing the same and all the boys are wearing the same. The costumes that the characters in the background are wearing is all the same colour, red, which shows that this is the schools colour. The colour red symbolises evil, and through this clip evil is definitely shown as when the top half of her clothing comes off, everyone points and laughs at the girl when she must be feeling humiliated.

Lighting- The lighting in this scene is all the same and just the same lighting as it would be in  a school gym. It is all bright which shows a happy mood and gives off a typical American movie type.

Actors- The actors in this opening all vary their attitudes and the way they act, at the beginning of the scene when the camera is tracking through all of the cheerleading squad, the girl at the end is clearly the team captain of this squad. The way she acts clearly shows that she is very stuck up and loves herself. Also when the girls are introducing themselves the camera, one of them blows a kiss... This shows that she is very confident and is very fond of herself. She also probably feels very popular with the boys. The main character is shown to want to be apart of this squad, and trys very hard to become popular and act like the others do, but when you see that this is not a dream your perception of this character changes and you seem to think that she could in fact be a nice girl who is just trying to fit in, perhaps, a new school.

Props- In this opening scene there is a clear prop that is essential in any chearleader movie. The cheerleaders and the people in the background all use pompoms. This represnts their social status as cheerleaders are usually the popular people in the school. Also, in the girls bedroom there is a lot of rosettes behind her, which show that she must be very good at something to be winning these because of her performances.

Juno Opening Scene

For my project we had to remake the opening scene of Juno, as shown in the first video above. We started planning this using storyboards in class, by drawing brief images of what we would film, writing  what type of shot we used, writing what we would film and how long we would film each shot for. Then, once we did this we then used a camcorder and started filming. We tried to make it as like the original opening as possible, trying to make the same shots and the same effects to make it like the original. Overall we found this very fun but it was harder than we expected as we had to try and get each shot in the same timing as possible. Next time the things we would improve on would be the steadiness of the camera, as we felt that it was quite bumpy whilst filming some shots. To edit this we used Premier and it made the skill of the film a lot better as we could add effects and transitions. This software was quite confusing but once your used to it it is very fun to use. We added in the song that is on the opening of Juno, therefore it is more like it. We used video effects and video transitions to produce the outcome that we did.

Slideshow on 2 different film institutions

This is a slideshow that talks about the different institutions that 2 films are produced by.

Legally Blonde Opening Scene

Legally blonde opening.

In the opening of this movie the music in the background explores the fact that they think everything is perfect in their world. The typography in this opening is girly, swirly and pink which makes you know that the film is going to be mainly focused on how girls are and how they act. It is mainly focused on how the girls are getting ready, showing them putting on their jewellery and spraying their perfume. Shots are repetitively shown on the girls getting ready, focusing on their hair and all girl things that they would do. The repetitive 'perfect' that is playing in the background shows that the lifestyle they live in is shown as perfect, and puts the perfect theme into your head.  The music is also very upbeat, which makes you think that the film is going to be happy and a chick flick. The sun is shining and everything in the environment looks fresh, and this is a typical setting for an American theme. The clothes all the girls are wearing perfect clothes and designer handbags, which show that they take pride in their appearance and care about what they look like. This also shows that their social status is high and perhaps they have a lot of money. A typical prop for a girly film is a dog. There is a dog that appears in the opening which is dressed up in pink, this shows that the character in this film is very girly and perhaps gives off a 'bimbo' impression. Many people relate money to happiness, therefore this is why the happy vibe is given off. The girl comes across that she gets everything that she wants and lives a very perfect life.

Institution logo

Here i have created my own institution logo, this is to produce new films. I have used the dolphins in this as dolphins are very happy animals, thererfore they are to explore the fact that the film is exciting and unexpected. The stars represent that this film company is star viewing.

Editing Practise

Here I have attempted to create the beginning of a music video to get myself familiar with editing skills on premier. I have tried different transitions and tried to make it as exciting as it could be, and also as professional as it could be. I did not get any where near finishing this music video but I am happy with what I did complete. I now feel confident with using this piece of software, so when I have to complete my real project i will be condident in how I do it.

Its a Boy Girl thing - Film Shots

 

 

Angle- This photo is a low level shot, as the camera angle is below the ladys

body and is looking up towards her. This shows imporance in the character as the

camera is looking up towards her. As she is the teacher in the school, this applies well.

 

Angle- This is a high level shot, and is shown above the character. This makes

the character look very vulnerable and weak. As this is after the body swap from the boy

and girl this applies well, as she is not acting the way she usually is as someone else is placed

in her body, therefore she is very weak as it is not actually her.

 

 

Frame- This is a close up of the character as this can show the emotion and the facial

expressions of the actors face. Here she is reading a book while there is a lot of background

noise taking place. The close up effect can clearly show her facial expressions which then give us

a clear understanding of how she feels.

 

Frame- This is a extreme long shot of the character, which still focususes on the character, but gives

you the chance to see the scenery and setting that she lives in. It wants you to get the impression

that she comes from a wealthy family and has a nice family home. This then develops

on the type of character she is.

 

Frame- This is a long shot, this is used so that you can still clearly see the character, but

you can also see her surroundings too. This gives you the chance to still see the charactors facial

expressions, but also see what is going on around her.

 

Frame- This is a Three Medium Shot. This shows three characters in the scence, and you can see

half of each of them. This ables you to see the expressions and movement of each of the characters

and also see the setting that they are in.

 

Frame- Over the shoulder shows that the main perosn is still in the shot, but there is another focul

point in the shot. This gives the shot also from the characters point of view, as it is also eyeline

so you can see what she would be seeing.

 

Movement- This is a pan right shot, so that the camera is level but is moving to the right. This shows

that the camera is still level and is moving to show all of the surroundings. This then builds

up to the next main focus and becomes more dramatic.

 

Movement- This is a tilt down shot, this is so that the main focul point is then not distuinguished

anymore, and wants to take the importance of this character. The importance is then taken away

and put onto something/someone else. In the case of this shot, the main point was the two

characters in the car, and now it is actually the car. It wants to give you a clear shot

and a clear discription of the car so in future cases you recognise it.

 

 

Movement- This is a track shot, this is used to have a still shot whilst the camera is moving. It

wants you to be able to see all of the surroundings and then build up to the main point.

It creates a more dramatic scence as it is building up to a final destination. 

Dyers Theory- How we treat people because of the way they are protrayed in the media.

Bin Lardin is a prime example to how the media makes us treat people the way they are portrayed to us. Bin Lardin caused a lot of grief and was in the media a lot for his actions. Because he was a Muslim man, the media taught us to see most Muslims in a bad way and give you a bad feeling about Muslims and stereotype them all as acting the way Bin Lardin did.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2014/01/obama-lacked-faith-afghan-policy-gates-201418252070558.html


Also, in movies and programmes, gay men are portrayed in a kind of insulting way to them. Because in programmes like 'little Britain', the gay man is shown in a girly way and it is very rare to see gay people that look like that. Most people interpret gay people to wearing makeup, talking girly and having a typical tea pot pose, but infact there are very little gay men who actually are like that.

Media is also a huge reason to why so many people stereotype youths. Most people suspicion when around teenagers as they believe that all teenagers carry knives and want to cause harm to everything and everyone. And this is the interpretation we get from media, like TV programmes and the news. Because the little of the population that are like this, get caught out, all teenagers are therefore stereotyped in a way that they all act this way.

Preferred and opositional readings

Preferred and oppositional readings
The preferred reading for this poster is that the people in the background are vandalising property, and because of their clothing, posture and size they appear to be youths. The preferred reading would have the audience siding with the main character, Harry. Which makes you believe that all youths are thugs and they all damage property.

The oppositional reader may not look at it this way, and may think that there is a reason behind why these children acted the way they did. Even though the phrase 'EVERY MAN HAS A BREAKING POINT' is directed at Harry Brown, you could also use this as back up to the youths in this image. Something may have happened to them to cause them to break and cause this massive outburst like they have. This type of audience may feel sorry for the youths and feel like there is actually a reason to what they have done and that they should not be so stereotyped that they have only done bad.

Pitch Perfect- Opening scene questions

Identify the key actions within the opening - what kinds of actions are included and how is the narrative moved forward?

The actions that are included in the opening scene of pitch perfect is that at the beginning of the movie there is a volume control sort of view that when you play music the louder it gets the longer the lines, and the faster the song the closer the lines are together. This gives the impression that music is going to be a big part of this film. The next thing you see is a computer screen adjusting and editing the track, so this also gives you the impression there is going to be music calibrations and editing music. Then the camera zooms out of the computer and shows a girls hands editing the music. Then you see the girl pack her things away and out them in a taxi, which shows that she is taking all her equipment and skills to wherever she is going and makes you believe she is going to put them to good use. Then the camera moves up and travels throughout a city which explores the fact that the girl is going somewhere. There is not much action in the opening scene of this movie.

Identify the enigma codes within the opening - what kinds of questions are posed and how is the audience meant to read these codes?

Why is she editing music?
Where is she going?
Why is she taking her equipment with her?

3. Identify key characters and think about what they represent in the opening.

There is only one key character in the opening scene of this film and this is Becca, she represents a character that has a big interest in music, and her facial expression when she gets out of the taxi at the end of the opening scene shows that she does not want to be wherever she has arrived, and makes you think that she just wants to get back onto her computer and carry on with editing her music. 


4. Interpret the cultural codes in the opening. What kind of knowledge is being drawn on? social/historical/political/art and culture etc. Highlight the 3 most important references in the opening that help with audience understanding.

In the scene there is a valuable piece of equipment (apple mac laptop) which shows that she must come from a medium or upper class family, as people with lower class would not be able to afford such a valuable piece of equipment. As she is attending university, she is living in a student room and sharing it with her roommate. The majority of the film is set in the university complex, and all the people around her are therefore people that also attend the university that she does.

Photographs taken in groups with film genre and target audience

 
We were set a task to take related photos for a film genre and a target audience. Our film genre was teen film, and the target audience was pre- teens. To start we found this difficult because the genre and target audience did not really work well together and it was quite ionic. Therefore we just went for a typical sort of film and set it in a high school. We made sure that all of the backgrounds were school related therefore you would be able to notice that this is set in a school. In the first photo we thought of the sort of story that we would have and made sure that the way they jump fits with the story type. The way the hands and legs are placed show that the story line is quite sharp and to the point. This is similar in the other two images as in one there is a football post which consists of straight lines, and in the other they are behind a net which shows they are eager to get out the way they feel.

Analyis of film poster

In the background the pink boarder gives a girly theme, which makes you know that this film will be a chick flick theme movie. The way the girl at the beginning is spaced at the front with some of the other characters behind her show that she is a very important character within this movie. Her facial expression shows that she is trying to be seductive and serious. The way she is standing with her hand on her hip and her legs separated show that she believes she is much better than everyone else, and gives us an impression that she has an attitude. Also the choice of clothing differs, she is wearing a short dress and holding a hand bag, whereas the girls at the back are wearing long skirts with their arms crossed. This tells us a lot about their personalities, showing that the girl at the front must have a flirty personality, and the characters at the back are a lot more serious and follow the rules. The two characters at the back to the left also have their arms crossed, which shows that eventually the girls share the same personality and become friends with the main character as their pulling they have the same body language. However, the two girls to the right show that they obey any instructions given to them and are very well behaved. Also as they share the same body language shows they are also like teachers pets. The symbol of the 'I love LA' in the key ring appears to show an important part in the film as they have assured that we take into consideration this writing. The typography in this poster is bold and in capital letters. Also the word CHILD is in purple, and so is the girls dress. This is showing us link with the WILD CHILD word and giving it to this character, therefore that we know this comment is about this character,

Pitch presentation and feedback

To come up with the idea of "A Wife's Tale", the genre we used was fantasy and the target audience was under 10's. To start with we found this very difficult to come up with, because this is a very popular choice already in the film industry as a lot of films with this genre and target audience have already been done. For example, Shrek, A sharks tale and Up. Differently, we decided to add historical film genre. The reason for this was because this was something that hadn't really been done before, therefore this would therefore make the film have a better appeal to not only children but to the parents as well and could be watched as a family film.

From research,  historical films are not that good and do not get very good ratings, and we thought that this would of been due to the constant information given to children and they may not have found that interesting. So instead this is why we have mixed it with the genre fantasy, as there can be some made up facts and bizarre things happening throughout the film, this will make the children a lot more intrigued but will also interest parents as they're children will be learning and enjoying themselves whilst watching the film.  Because of this we made sure that we picked a high quality class and gave it a fun exciting story line that would appeal to kids and the cast would also appeal to parents as they are all very well known.

The plot of the film was two young children are not  doing well in their history class and need catching up, their parents have been informed and they are due to complete a project together. the teacher has given them a little help by giving them a important text box to take information from. This text book is magical and takes them back to Tudor times where they discover Henry VIII had an extra wife that know one knew about. Because of this story line the title had to be chosen well so it didn't give to much away but still linked to the film. This is why the title "A wife's tale" was chosen. The reason it was chosen was because a wife's tale is an old saying so loosely ties in with the historic genre but it also links with the film because the main information is about an extra wife. Because of this we felt that the title worked well as it does not give too much away, but links well with the story line.

Feedback
The main thing we found with our feedback is that everyone was unclear about the enigma code. The majority of people left the box blank or not actually know what it was, therefore this was unhelpful feedback as we did not really understand what we could improve and did know get told what they felt about it. Next time we do this we need to make sure that the enigma code is clear so that the audience knows what it is.
Out of all of the feedback the best part of it was the Name of the film and the cast section. Both of these where highly praised in our feedback and the majority of people rated them both very highly. This shows that our film was appealing because everyone like the title which would make people remember the film and the cast made people excited about the film.
The section "is the film different?" Had mixed reviews most people didn't really know what to think of it. Some people thought that it was a good idea and liked it but other thought that it reminded them of a couple of other films. This may make us want to change the theme slightly because people may get bored watching it. This wouldn't be good in the long run because no one will want to watch it and it will no make any money.
Overall the film went down well and most people decided that they would buy the film rights if they could. This is encouraging because it shows that our film would have been a success if it was all put together.

Harry Potter opening scene analysis

This film is on a dark spooky street. I think the reason why this scene is set at nighttime is because it sets a higher level of mystery and makes you feel more intrigued to know what is going to happen next. The opening scene gives of a mysterious theme, as the music is creating a haunting effect and causing you to wonder what has already happened and then what will happen next. Also i feel there is a wisdom theme as the man that walks down the street comes across very wise and knowledgeable, and the way he takes the light from the lamp post and uses it for his own lighting explores the fact that he has great power and is supernatural. Throughout this clip there is a several amount of props that cause different emotions while viewing them. For example even though the houses, lamposts and cars throughout the street just lurk in the background, they still have a serious effect on the mood. It gives you the taste that this is just an ordinary street, but then the way the man takes the light from the lampost shows that the people in the film are going to be abnormal and supernatural. Also the baby in this opening is a big part and gives a strong effect, as he is just left of the door step of a home. There is a key feature on the baby that announces that he stands out from any other baby, the "Z" scar on his forehead. This gives the impression that throughout the film this is going to be a very important key feature. The conversations between the characters start to tell the story. The main character in this opening would be the baby, as he has the distinctive scar on his face. I think he is a baby of a few months old and I feel that although he is coming across extremely important, someone is not going to be aware of his importance and not treat him with the respect he deserves. Also, the man character looks very superior as he has supernatural powers. He looks old and dated, almost as if he has been this age for a long period of time. On the other hand the lady that is in this clip also looks important, but not as important as the man. The way she transforms from a cat into a woman also shows she has supernatural powers. It's almost as though she obeys his requests and he is in charge of her. The music in this clip is very spooky and gives off a mysterious feeling. At the beginning when the road sign is shown, the camera angle is slightly below, looking up... I feel that this means this street is very important so it is almost shows as a pedestal. The genre of Harry Potter is fantasy, and this supports in may different ways. The use of magic and wizards show that the film cannot actually be true, therefore the fantasy theme is appropriate.