PRACTICE FILM OPEING

the brief (tabletop shoot; live action shoot; soundtrack of Emily Barker Nostalgia; titles)

Brief: Our task was to choose our props from a selection of items including: old alcohol bottles, blueprints, clothes, brief cases, jewellery storage etc. We chose Nostalgia by Emily Baker as we believed the song tells multiple stories, displaying multiple images all at once allowing for us to replicate a lifestyle sung about to create suspicion and curiosity from the viewer. 

Inspiration: We were initially inspired to create an original title sequence in groups (with props) from the opening title sequence of the 1991 movie - Delicassen. 

The props chosen were bloody aprons and surgeon masks which illustrated death and violence to the viewer within the short time period. We also added to the collection of props, fake money and placed it all over the table in which it was shot, this displayed a character who had an above average accumulation of wealth. Other props such as passports were displayed to represent travel and exploration which best describes this character, supported by the photos, postcards and passports. The necklace displayed on-top of the photo shows what the woman left behind.

The film can be found here

ON THE SET

In our previous lesson, we were taught how to successfully use the equipment to minimise damage and maximise our use out of them. The equipment used are:

- Canon Camera
- Manfrotto Tripods

What was the equipment used? We were told to be extremely careful when handling the cameras. All of the media students were told to insert the battery and memory cards and remove them carefully and safely without damaging the camera. We explored some of the main uses of the camera and other side benefits which may not be obvious to the new photographers and directors.

What is white balance? this is the process of 'removing unrealistic colour casts'. This essentially makes objects that appear white, to be displayed as white rather than the camera removing it. The canon camera is able to use 'colour temperature' to adjust to the 'coolness of the light source'. By pressing on the 'WB' button on the camera,  it is able to give the image a more realistic effect. This helps to create a certain type of atmosphere such as cold one using blue and a warm one using a 'yellowy' colour

What is the 180 degree rule? we used a rule called the 180 Degree rule. This meant that the 180 degree should always be in the same 'left/right relationship'. This means that, both subjects should always be connecting in the same frame, not with them both looking opposite directions.

What did the editing include? My partner and I got to grips with editing by starting on iMovie. We rapidly found out the best effects for our footage. We created a folder on a laptop and a media mac, both containing all the shots created. This means they can be easily accessible and cut between shots.

RESEARCH: TITLES

Production Company – Columbia, Marvel, Sony

·                     Director(s)- Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Bob Persichetti

·                     Starring – Jake Johnson , Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfield

·                     Title -  Spiderman: Into the Spider Verse 

·                     Starring – Mahershalala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicholas Cage

·                     Casting - Muneeb Rehman 

·                     Costume designer - Justin K Thompson

·                     Special make up effects supervisor - Danny Dimian

·                     Sound designer- Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

·                     Music - Daniell Pemberton

·                     Film editor - Robert Fisher JR

·                     Production designer- Justin Thompson

·                     Director of photography- Ronnie Del Carmen

·                     Executive producer - Phil Lord, Chris Miller

·                     Based on novel - Previous stories

·                     Screenplay - Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord

·                     Producer - Christopher Miller 

·                     Director - Peter Ramsey

Production Company – Warner Bros

·                     Director(s)- William Friedkin

·                     Starring – Linda Blair, Max Von Sydown and Ellen Burstyn

·                     Title -  The Exorcist

·                     Casting -  Nessa Hyams, Juliet Taylor and Louis DiGiaimo

·                     Costume designer - Joseph Fretwell

·                     Special make up effects supervisor - Robert Laden

·                     Sound designer- Randle Akerson 

·                     Music - Robert Garett

·                     Film editor - Norman Gay and Evan A Lottman

·                     Production designer- Bill Mailey

·                     Director of photography- Billy Williams

·                     Executive producer - Noel Marshall

·                     Based on novel - N/A

·                     Screenplay - N/A

·                     Producer - William Peter Blatty

·                     Director - Peter Masterson 

RESEARCH: DISTRIBUTION COLLAGE

I watched Kezia Williams deliver a presentation on what theatrical distribution at Pathe does.Williams shared that distributers work to create a successful marketing campaign for each film. I investigated the different aspects of a marketing campaign for a specific recent film like:

• Film website
• Film posters
• Film trailers
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Cross promotion/ product tie-ins (like Heineken and James Bond in SkyFall and Spectre, Toyota and Star Wars)
• News articles, interviews, award ceremonies

Kezia Williams explained that, in a congested marketplace, a distributor's aim was too position a film in a way that it stood out for its target audience. Similarly, Chris Besseling offered me a series of insights into how distributors market a film's USP (Unique Selling Point) such as its star cast, its provenance (such as literary adaptation or biopic credentials), its awards and good reviews.

Matt Smith of the FDA tells us that spend on digital has increased enormously. For instance, trailers are now cut to portrait viewing on smart phones. Digital includes all social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc) that work as a synergistic whole in promoting a product. Matt Smith also refers to paid-for marketing as distinct from the free publicity. Social media can generate viral marketing-free publicity. 

Social media

Social media is a great way for those interested in that film to engage. Some may not even know the film story line but is interested in this upcoming film purely based on i.e, where it is set, the main actors, directors etc. This helps build that momentum before the film is already released, 'hyping' this upcoming movie.

Film Websites:

Film websites allow those who want to see exactly what will happen within the movie. They are able to see all the movies resources such as posters, trailers and the cast. This will please those who want to know background behind how it was made and who made the film before going to go watch it.

Posters:

For Blumler and Katz,  audiences use media to gratify their needs. One need is the pleasure of forming relationships. One way Joker has used this is by using the actors Joaquin Phoenix, this would attract those who watch this specific actor purely because of who he is regardless of the storyline. This acts as an excellent marking strategy 

FRANK ASH

I learned from Frank Ash, creative consultant with the BBC Academy, about what he calls 'digital storytelling': how to connect an audience by creating a relevant story and how to leave them with a sense of anticipation and suspense.



Frank Ash has given me a good understanding for when it comes to me making my film opening. I have used some of my skills to create a comic cover using the programme comic life 

ART OF THE TITLE

Mindhunter/

This title sequence successfully creates a mysterious and earie beginning to the film. It focuses primarily on the setting-up of the old-fashioned microphone. The audience isn’t given any reassurance during this scene. To add to the confusion and fear there are several flashes of gory images that seem to look like corpses, this adds to the feeling of confusion and fear. The hard cuts to and from the gory images makes it so quick that the audience aren't even able to process what they are looking at, but able to make out a gory image. This then leave the viewer to decipher the horrid message itself that this isn't just the setting up of the microphone but something much darker linked to it. To then round up there is slow scary music which is purposely out of time. What this does to the sequence is, emphasise what we are seeing and has a major influence on how the viewer is feeling.

The way this sequence is successful is, by creating this strange and confusing start, this will make the viewer want to watch on to get an explanation. The two main questions I had in my head while watching this was, what is the microphones use, it must be important to be at the beginning for such a length of time. My second thought was, what are these corpses? Something dark is clearly happening and for the answers to be unlocked I must watch on and decipher the messages ahead.

Between the flash shots of the corpse the camera zooms in and out very quickly, even though this isn’t very noticeable, it adds to the subject of confusion.