18th November 2010

Today in our media lesson, we have been given the task of filling in a sheet with information about our main project. We didn't have enough time to go into detail but when we have some free time we will go into furthur detail.

Film introduction practice

We were given the task of shooting the opening introduction from a film.

First we were given the movie Juno but after consideration and problems with filming we changed the movie to the worldwide hit 'Resevoir dogs' which opening is very simplistic but also very effective.

Resevoir dogs opening;

(Inser resevoir dogs opening later)

We have recruited many high profile actors to participate in our film. These actors being some of our closest friends. A list of actors in film are;

Joe Wright
Luke Pitchford
Isaac Warburton
Tom Peck
Daniel Mucklin
Michael Worthington
Matthew Wilkin
Lewis Bradley
Phil Anderson

We unfortunately didn't have much time on filming as we only had 20 minutes so everything was a bit rushed. Also we only had one lesson to film so we didn't bring any authentic costumes to create realism.

Non diagetic and diagetic sounds

In our latest media lesson we have been learning basic terms on sounds, non diagetic and diagetic.

These are pretty simple terms to grasp and used a lot in movies for many effects.

Diagetic; This is all the sounds you can hear from the actual scene itself. Any possibly noise made by the actors or scenery is Diagetic sound. You can also use diagetic sounds to bridge the gap between scenes to maintain continuity.

Non diagetic; Contrasting with diagetic, non diagetic sounds are all the sounds that are not in the scene. A key example of this is background music which is mainly used for setting the emotion the scene is trying to perceive.

Analaysis of a worldwide hit movie intro; Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is an Oscar winning movie that has touched and influenced many people of different age ranges. Forrest Gump can be classed as a hybrid movie in terms of target audience as the movie appeals to all ages. It is a simple and easy story to follow that captivates audiences and creates huge ammounts of sympathy with a heart warming storyline.

The opening sequence for Forrest Gump is one of symbolism. Initatially, the scene opens with a single white feather in the ambience of the clear blue sky. The use of a white feather holds connotation of purity and innocence which coincides with the main character. The feather for the duration of the opening is being influenced by the wind, somewhat like a free spirit. The feather intertwines with the opening credits which include actors and crew. The feather flows up and down which represents up's and down's in the main characters life. The feather also shows moments on kindness and tenderness which is shown by the slow resting on a mans shoulder. Contrasting with this it also shows moments of danger like when the feather passes under a car which is followed by a fast upwards motion which then ends up with the same slow progression in movement. This represents that he will face danger but his personality will always revert back to the same state of which is calm. The still intact feather also moves from area to area around New York which represents a clear sense of travel and movement which coincides with the main characters journey through the movie.

Finally, the feather comes to rest gently on a pair of muddy sneakers. These muddy sneakers belong to the main character who is in a suit which doesn't create a stereotype as the muddy sneakers contrast with the formal suit. The main character then picks up the feather and puts in into a childrens book.This respresents the characters mindset as he is very 'simple' which also very caring as he looks at the feather with love and admiration.

Audience Research

Horror
We have researched into this genre as we are very keen to portray this is in our final piece. Our audience feedback has informed us to 'leave it to out viewers imagination' as this is the most effective style of horror film making. Examples of this are 'Paranormal activity' which has won many awards for it's style. We have also been advised that we need to have a almost immediate impact on our audience as if the viewer is not taken in after the first 5 minutes of a film then there is a quite low chance of them continuing.

Comedy
Our audience feedback shows that there are numerous different types of people that enjoy the many different types of comedies that out society has to offer. One comedy may be very popular with one set of people but to another it might be despised. The most effective type of comedy that my research has shown is slapstick. E.G. Mr Bean and Aiplane.

Willing suspension of disbelief (Horror)

The ability to make a viewer engrossed into a film so that they are heavily involved and attached emotionally to the film. Things that then happen into the movie will affect them more and draw out more attention and emotion, consequently making the viewer enjoy the movie to a higher extent.

Lighting

Here is a poster from the famous movie 'Hostage'. In our media lesson today we have been learning about all different types of lighting methods and most simple methods have been used in this poster.

Key Lighting;

This is the main lighting source and in this poster is coming from the right hand side. This is evident because the left hand side of Bruce Willis's face is illuminated and the left hand side is in shadow.

Backing Lighting;

A very simple method of lighting that creates a halo effect on the edges of the actors body to make him stand out from the background. This also coincides with the background of a helicopter as it has the effect that the helicopters main light is what is creating this halo effect upon his left shoulder and follwing down his left arm.