http://www.scribd.com/full/47968794?access_key=key-23ko94a96qtd40y1z6rh
This is my groups shot list for the first minute of 'The Strangers'. Like 'Juno' my task was also to create this shot list. This was much simpler than 'Juno' as it had simple shots (not two at once) and during the first minute most the screen was black with a bit of writing.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
'Juno' Shot List
http://www.scribd.com/full/47968587?access_key=key-ksyt83tqcjzihcp8opd
This is my groups shot list of the first opening minute of 'Juno'. I was the one who created the shot list and i found doing it vary simple and easy. However, some shots in Juno cross over one another leading me to get confused what to write. This confusion can negatively impact our editing process as we can debate some shots when it should be simple. To overcome this problem during our editing we watched Juno again for those bits we debated and all came to the simplest logical choices to dealing with the problem, as doing two shots at once on iMovie is near impossible.
This is my groups shot list of the first opening minute of 'Juno'. I was the one who created the shot list and i found doing it vary simple and easy. However, some shots in Juno cross over one another leading me to get confused what to write. This confusion can negatively impact our editing process as we can debate some shots when it should be simple. To overcome this problem during our editing we watched Juno again for those bits we debated and all came to the simplest logical choices to dealing with the problem, as doing two shots at once on iMovie is near impossible.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
25/01/2011
We were set the task to pick three out of nine film openings and to recreate them.
For a comedy opening,we chose ‘Juno’ instead of ’50 first dates’ and ‘Superbad’. ‘Superbad’ would have been too hard to recreate using iMovie though it was our favourite choice. '50 first dates’ was just far too easy, we want to be challenged in filming and editing. ‘Juno’ seemed the obvious pick however the background of the opening is a black and white cartoon. We can’t create that using iMovie so we drew the background ourselves on A3 sheets of paper and used Barbie dolls as the actors. This worked surprisingly well. We did the filming for ‘Juno’ today and it took around an hour. We stuck the A3 sheets to a white board and someone would hold Barbie (their hand out of view). This seemed to work well however we won’t know how effective it is until we edit.
For a horror opening we choose ‘The Strangers’ instead of ‘Halloween’ and ‘Se7en’. All of these were rather simple to create however ‘The Strangers’ had a lot of editing parts behind the opening though it’s basic. So we could show our potential of editing with iMovie, we choose to do ‘The Strangers’. We filmed the houses for ‘The Strangers’ today also. The first fifty seconds of the opening is all done in editing the last ten seconds is split into 4 seconds and 6 seconds filming two separate homes. We found houses that were not connected to others to film so it could look like the stereotypical American homes.
For a thriller opening we choose ‘Vertigo’ instead of ‘Memento’ and ‘The Shinning’. ‘The Shinning’ opening is just a car driving through the mountains. It's dull and boring so we quickly ruled it out despite having planned how we would create it. ‘Memento’ is all filmed backwards and quickly caught my attention as a good opening. It’s interesting that the directors name comes up first instead of last this is used because the film starts from the end and travels to the beginning. The reason we didn’t choose to do this opening was just due to the fact ‘Vertigo’ stood out. ‘Vertigo’ allows us to show some of our camera potential as it includes close ups, tilts and panning.
For a comedy opening,we chose ‘Juno’ instead of ’50 first dates’ and ‘Superbad’. ‘Superbad’ would have been too hard to recreate using iMovie though it was our favourite choice. '50 first dates’ was just far too easy, we want to be challenged in filming and editing. ‘Juno’ seemed the obvious pick however the background of the opening is a black and white cartoon. We can’t create that using iMovie so we drew the background ourselves on A3 sheets of paper and used Barbie dolls as the actors. This worked surprisingly well. We did the filming for ‘Juno’ today and it took around an hour. We stuck the A3 sheets to a white board and someone would hold Barbie (their hand out of view). This seemed to work well however we won’t know how effective it is until we edit.
For a horror opening we choose ‘The Strangers’ instead of ‘Halloween’ and ‘Se7en’. All of these were rather simple to create however ‘The Strangers’ had a lot of editing parts behind the opening though it’s basic. So we could show our potential of editing with iMovie, we choose to do ‘The Strangers’. We filmed the houses for ‘The Strangers’ today also. The first fifty seconds of the opening is all done in editing the last ten seconds is split into 4 seconds and 6 seconds filming two separate homes. We found houses that were not connected to others to film so it could look like the stereotypical American homes.
For a thriller opening we choose ‘Vertigo’ instead of ‘Memento’ and ‘The Shinning’. ‘The Shinning’ opening is just a car driving through the mountains. It's dull and boring so we quickly ruled it out despite having planned how we would create it. ‘Memento’ is all filmed backwards and quickly caught my attention as a good opening. It’s interesting that the directors name comes up first instead of last this is used because the film starts from the end and travels to the beginning. The reason we didn’t choose to do this opening was just due to the fact ‘Vertigo’ stood out. ‘Vertigo’ allows us to show some of our camera potential as it includes close ups, tilts and panning.
Thursday, 20 January 2011
History of film logos.
'Paramount
The first 'Paramount ' logo lasted for 38years and was just a plain picture shot in black and white.
In 1924, around roughly the same time 'Universal Studios' globe began to spin, 'Leo' the lion became the mascot and the iconic figure for 'MGM '. This was the key moment were logos no longer just simple pictures but instead had very brief animation or recordings.
In 1935, '20th Century Fox' expanded from the animated globe of 'Universal Studios' and made a cool animated logo for itself. The flash lights are the thing that stood out for me as they were never seen before. Also, the music played a key role of building tension for the films they produced. Both the visuals and music from this logo lead on to much better modern logos.
The 'Paramount ' logo from 1952 shows the first brief version of animation added into the logo. It was a basic fade in and out of the picture to suit the way in which films become slightly more complicated.
The 1968 version of the logo clearly shows more use of animation. Though simple today the moving background highlights the way in which animation has changed for not just logos but also for films.
During 1976, all logos apart from 'Universal's Globe' included some form of CGI but, by the 1980s, many industries chose to stick to its original routes shown by 'Warner Brothers' iconic shield.
During 1987, 'Paramount CGI . The use of CGI influenced the concept for other industries to adopt their own logos. This is the first of the 'Paramount ' logos that further its use of music.
For 'Universal Studio's' 75th anniversary they released this breath taking logo. This seems to be the key point for logos to start making films seem out of this world. Not just shown by its visual effects but also by its now iconic music. This logo also sets the atmosphere up for the film before it has even begun.
The 2002 'Paramount ' logo is a great example of how the modern logos don't just advertise the industry it's representing but also how it sets the atmosphere for the film up with great sounds effects and amazing visuals. The visual effects are awesome and really help set the mood for the film. Your eyes are drawn to the screen before the film even begins; a great technique to intrigue your viewer.
Just like 'Universal Studios' and 'Paramount ', most mainstream industries today have amazing logos setting the atmosphere up before the film has begun using both visual and aural elements. If you watch just the first minute of this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJBVvKB1RI0 it shows how '20th Century Fox' has evolved and is another great example of logo development.
The new strand of logos seems to have one thing in common for big films: they fit the logo to match the setting of the film. Harry Potter's openings always have the iconic 'Warner Bros' shield fit to match the films setting. Other films also adopt this new craze, especially 'Dream Works' doing it with nearly every one of their animated films in a humorous way. Madagascar
'Pixar', the masters of animation, also have taken their logo to fit that of the film shown in this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpQucD29Ydo&NR=1 from 'WALL-E' (2008). I personally feel that this bringing the logo to the film is going to be the near future for the film industries.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990) Opening Sequence
(I apologise for the video cutting short however it was the only opening i could find.)
The opening holds no characters or any moving video clips which makes it far more questionable and confusing for the viewer. However, the dullness and creepy of setting and the music suggest it’s a horror film from first glimmers. The storyline is unclear of this film but it is an open narrative. However, the enigma code suggests part of the plot to the audience such as the setting of the laboratory connoting experimentation; you could even argue the setting of the laboratory is a flashback making it a fractured narrative. This fits with the title ‘Edward Scissorhands’ as we are aware people do not have scissor hands. The themes of the piece seem to be a child’s horror and a fairytale type story.
The title itself appears on screen in a scriblled style with the top line ‘EDWARD’ and the bottom ‘SCISSORHANDS’ forming the shape of scissors and slowly open like scissors. This helps highlight the title of the film. The title also suggests there is a character called ‘Edward’ and also suggests he has scissors for hands. To emphasise he has scissors for hands, two images flash up; one being scissors the other being a pair of hands attached to no body. The non-diegetic music chimes like a baby dial up music box. This is very creepy and old fashioned helping to mould the atmosphere of chilling fear.
Notice the opening has no actual video clips, instead the images and ways words are written is the clues of what to come. All is clear from the opening is that this film is strange, spooky and most likely includes a character named Edward who has scissor type hands. This keeps the audience asking questions about the movie and sets the mood needed for the movie. ‘Tim Burton’, the director of this movie, often opens films in this manner (such as ‘Sweeny Todd’) and each time it gives you a slight taste of the movie and character.
Reservoir Dogs (1992) Opening Title Sequence
This is one if not the most simple movie openings I have ever seen. It just consists of eight men walking down a street towards a road. This was effective though as it makes the audience want to know more. And despite it being very short and simple you still gather a large amount and understanding of the film.
The genre is not necessarily clear in the opening, however if I had to pick I would go with thriller. The open narrative uses the enigma code to feed the audience information which suggests that there is about to be trouble (action codes help advance the narrative because the audience knows something is going to happen) shown by the intimidating men all dressed like gangsters with suits, sun glasses, gold chains and a very troublesome walk. Also, the men are not individuals but instead seen to be in a group making them appear even more troublesome to the viewer. The way they walk and look suggests the theme to this movie is gangster/crime related. The setting is obviously an urban city as well, the fact they come from a small alley way into the big street may connote the small alley way to be their underground empire and now they are being released to the world.
No details are told about the characters. However, the actor’s names flash up once the character is seen on screen letting the audience know who plays who. All characters appear to be gangsters apart from the actor ‘Chris Penn’ who wears the blue shirt. The blue shirt may suggest he is a ‘fake’ gangster or possibly a bit of a ladies man. All other men who wear the suits are seen to be tough, hard, troublesome and dangerous. The music in the background is fun, cool and relaxing which juxtaposes the image on screen, looking dangerous and threatening. Both the images on screen and the fun music helps create two opposite atmospheres; one being serious and the other being fun. This works well as it keeps the audience keen into finding out what is coming up in the movie. Finally, the men are all seen from the back in the distance and the word ‘are’ appears and is shortly followed by ‘Reservoir Dogs’ letting the audience know all these characters are important as there all linked to the title.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004) Opening Title Sequence
Napoleon Dynamite was released in 2004. Its opening sequence suits the genre, black comedy, which can be recognised by a few signifiers. When you see the card that says ‘Staring John Heder’ with a logo of an alien you can quickly connote the character John Heder will play is a nerd. To further this idea, the next card reveals Heder's character's name as ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ with an image of the geek. He is dramatic, over-the-top and stereotypically true to film as being a geek. Listening to the lyrics of the calm, country song ‘I can tell that we’re going to be friends’ is the final hint that can connote this is a black comedy as the audience laughs at something that in society is not usually laughable.
The song lyrics also mention going back to school which coincides with the school card that features the image of Napoleon. This establishes the high school location of the movie, which as a result reveals the character's age. The song's tone also helped set the relaxed, calm and considerably dull atmosphere which fits with the character of Napoleon as he is all these features. The character also has an active side which can be connoted with few props from the opening sequence such as the ninja star which is thrown. The narrative of the film is open though thanks to the song lyrics ‘I can tell that we’re going to be friends’. The audience gets the sense that Napoleon is going to make a friend and perhaps this is the end of the film creating a closed narrative. It is questionable. The theme is also obvious to be surrounding school life and due to Napoleon's appearance you can consider one theme to be bullying.
The song lyrics also mention going back to school which coincides with the school card that features the image of Napoleon. This establishes the high school location of the movie, which as a result reveals the character's age. The song's tone also helped set the relaxed, calm and considerably dull atmosphere which fits with the character of Napoleon as he is all these features. The character also has an active side which can be connoted with few props from the opening sequence such as the ninja star which is thrown. The narrative of the film is open though thanks to the song lyrics ‘I can tell that we’re going to be friends’. The audience gets the sense that Napoleon is going to make a friend and perhaps this is the end of the film creating a closed narrative. It is questionable. The theme is also obvious to be surrounding school life and due to Napoleon's appearance you can consider one theme to be bullying.
Also as a further note the opening was very original and possibly could be mistaken as an amateur opening. Not because it was bad as it was brilliant but due to its simplicity and low budget needed. This sort of opening interests me and I will ask this to be consider during our planning period of our own opening.
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