Opening Sequence

Preliminary Task

Teacher Assessment: Feedback on 'Evaluation'

Below is feedback from my teacher based on my 'Evaluation' posts on my blog. The teacher commented on what I have done to meet the criteria on the mark scheme, and has also given me a mark and a grade:

 
I then went back and reviewed my blog, making the improvements stated above.

Peer Assessment: Feedback on 'Evaluation'

Below is an assessment sheet filled out by one of my peers based on my 'Evaluation' posts on my blog:   

From this feedback I can see that I need to add videos into my 'Evaluation' blog posts in order to make them more visual. However, what my peer thought was good about my 'Evaluation' posts, was that it consisted of good research and analysis for each question.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Here, I have backed up examples of my points with screenshots from my opening sequence, and at times, compared them to the portrayal that can be seen in the film 'I Am Number Four'.

Age:

The young people in our opening sequence are shown to be trying to cope and overcome a serious issue, and we would see how these characters  - represented as mature and responsible young people - deal with this sensitive issue:

'I Am Number Four' features many fights within the film, therefore portraying the youths in the film to be quite menacing as they frequently engage in violence:

Disability:

Below is the character in our opening sequence that has a mental illness. Overall in our film we've represented mental health in quite a negative way; we show audiences the drastic measures taken by someone who is suffering - viewers witness the threatening actions taken by this person - and they would see how she is a danger - not only to herself, but to others around her. The inclusion of frequent close-ups of the character in our opening sequence make her seem quite intimidating to audiences:

Race:

A character in our sequence that is powerless and defenceless against other characters in our sequence. The use of close-ups on the blood make these characteristics evident to viewers:

Which contrasts to how white people are usually seen in films: strong, powerful and heroic:

Class:

Below are shots from our opening sequence that allow viewers to see one of our characters take part in her daily routine of work, and also show her to have a busy lifestyle. The use of a long shot helps to determine the setting being a place of work, therefore helping audiences to understand what her daily life is like:

By allowing the character to have expensive possessions, we can see that she is quite privileged, and it also indicates her class:

Gender:

When framing Jess' character, we used a low-angle shot as it helps to emphasise how dominant and powerful this female character is in our sequence:

The use of make-up in our opening sequence helps to stress how vulnerable and helpless this male character is in our film:

This contrasts to how gender is usually portrayed in films; in this screen-shot from 'I Am Number Four', it shows the male to be stronger - seen by this being the character with the weapon, and the female character to be following him just so she is safe - implying that male characters are always there to save others, while females are in danger and in need:

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Below is a SlideRocket presentation (9 slides) answering this evaluation question:
(Enlarge to full screen, press the play button, then use the arrow to control the presentation)

Teacher Assessment: Feedback on 'Opening Sequence'

Below is feedback from my teachers about our opening sequence:

Above, it states what our teachers thought we did well, and what could be improved. Before the date for resubmission (28/02/12), myself and my group have organised dates and times for when we can carry out some of the improvements, i.e. reshooting, etc.

7. Looking back on the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Siderocket presentation (14 slides): press the play button, then use arrows to continue with the presentation:
(Enlarge to full screen so it's clearer to read)

Peer Assessment: Feedback on 'Opening Sequence'

Below is feedback from 3 classmates on what they thought about my group's opening sequence:

Our main positive feedback was:
- Our genre was made apparent, by the use of lighting, locations, and shot distances.
- The use of a transition brings our shots together in an effective way.

However, from these pieces of feedback I can see that our group's main improvements are:
- The inclusion of titles.
- For our group to consider whether to re-shoot, or cut some shots in order to remove any parts that do not appear steady.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Conventions of an opening sequence:

Opening sequences for films are there for the purpose of establishing a particular tone, and introducing audiences to the film. Some conventions of an opening sequence can be seen below - my examples are taken from the film 'The Notebook':

- Logos of the films distribution/production companies are displayed before the opening credits. The companies are shown at the beginning of a film so that they are credited with making/releasing the movie; they are the reason that audiences are able to go and watch the movie.'The Notebook' shows the logo of their distribution company:

We followed this convention; our films distribution company's ident can be seen opening our sequence:

- Titles are another main convention of an opening sequence. The way in which the titles are shown aids to set the tone of the film. The titles for 'The Notebook' are shown to be small and in a formal font, therefore setting quite a serious tone to the start of the film. They are displayed in white - and due to the tone that is set - this helps to create a quiet, calm atmosphere:

Our films titles are also shown in white, but appear bolder, therefore seeming more prominent to audiences. Contrasting to the tone of 'The Notebook', our film creates a detached and bleak atmosphere:

- An opening sequence also makes use of different camera shot types, from close-ups to extreme long shots. Close-ups are used to enable audiences to witness the expressions and emotions of a character - the close-up taken from 'The Notebook' first introduces the character to audiences, and audiences perceive that she's serious, and appears deep in thought. However, the use of an extreme long shot in 'The Notebook's' opening acts as an establishing shot as it makes audience aware of what kind of environment the film will located in. As well as this, by allowing audiences to see the full surroundings, it helps to insert a feeling of calmness - due to the emptiness of the frame:

This convention is also followed through in our opening sequence, as we make use of many different shot types. The purpose for these shot types are different to 'The Notebook' however, as our close-up enables audiences to see her guilt and confusion over what she has done, whereas the extreme long shot helps to emphasise the feeling of hostility:

- Another convention is the introduction of a setting/mood. This is done in the opening of a film so that viewers are able to familiarise themselves with the films activity and surroundings. Within the opening sequence for 'The Notebook', orange appears to be a recurring colour, because of this, it adds an element of warmth and life to the calmness that is built up. 'The Notebook' opens with two settings: one portraying someone rowing down a lake at sunset, and due to it being sunset, this injects a relaxed and tranquil mood to the film, but the other displays a house that fills the frame, therefore it is made clear to audiences the importance of this building, and as we can see a figure in one of the windows, it leads audiences to ask questions:

Like, 'The Notebook' we also produce a particular mood with our setting in our opening sequence and introduce more than one location, however with our settings we create a very different mood than 'The Notebook'. One of our settings helps to provide viewers with a tense and isolated feeling, whereas the next setting that is shown contrasts to what was previously seen as it trys to insert a sense of normality to the opening:

- Although the convention of slow-paced editing is a main feature of 'Thriller' films, it can also be seen in different genres of film and their opening sequences. They make use of this edit as it helps to calm the speed of the film, and allows audiences to linger on what they are being shown; this particular edit gives them lots of information. The opening sequence of 'The Notebook' (seen below) incorporates many shots that last for quite a long duration, as they are trying to stress the significance of the surroundings and tone of the film:


Due to the nature of the genre we had chosen for our opening sequence, fast-paced editing seemed better suited and was a primary focus for us, as this would reserve some information from audiences, and as a result, this prompts them to ask questions about our film, leading them to feel intrigued:



Conventions of our genre:

In order for our opening sequence to be classed as a 'Thriller', we have to include the genre's conventions. As well as this, our group decided to challenge some of the conventions that can be seen in this genre.

Conventions we have used/developed:

- 'Thrillers' usually make use of white or blue titles as they create a cold, chilling atmosphere.  As a result of this connotation, we used this convention as we decided to display our titles in a bold white colour as it further reinforces a remote and hostile feeling. Screen-shot of our sequence displaying its white titles:

This is similar to the film of 'Taken', which also has bold, white titles within its opening:


- 'Thrillers' ensure they include sound that will unnerve their audiences, and whether the sound is diegetic or non-diegetic, 'Thrillers' make sure it is hyperbolic sound because, as the sound has been exaggerated, it puts emphasis on its importance to a scene - as seen in our opening sequence when the mobile phone rings and brings the character out of her daydream, the volume of the sound is meant to shock the character, as well as the audience. We followed through with this convention, and in our opening sequence, we have also included ambient sound as well as silence in some shots. The ambient sound (wind) which has been edited in, has been used to build up the suspense as the sequence continues. However, the lack of dialogue in our opening is there to make the audience feel uneasy and uncomfortable; it also anticipates to the climax of the sequence.
Below is part of our opening sequence that includes diegetic sound:



We also incorporated the use of non-diegetic (taken from www.freesound.org) within our sequence:

- Just like 'Thriller' films, our opening sequence includes the use of both fast and slow-paced editing. We included this convention because, quick cuts between shots in our sequence are there in order to quicken the pace of the story, and also, as they withhold information from audiences, they also excite viewers, as it implies something is going to happen to interrupt the pace/what characters in the shots are doing. On the other hand, we included shots with a long duration as they enable audiences to focus on what is going on in the shot as they may be given lots of information so that they can understand the storyline/activity of characters better.
Fast-paced cutting can be seen below in a clip from our opening sequence:

- We made use of low-key lighting - which is a frequent convention seen in 'Thrillers', and we used this convention for the purpose of generating shadows and sense of mystery, as well as adding an element of danger, and making the setting appear quite gritty. In our opening sequence, we made use of low-key lighting - primarily in the beginning of the sequence - as it produces an eerie and unsettling atmosphere that may also alarm audiences due to the darkness of a scene, as there's something about the unknown that may frighten them.
A clip displaying low-key lighting within our sequence:

This convention is seen in 'Taken':


- We have also used locations that appear isolated to create the feelings of hostility and seclusion. Just like films under the 'Thriller' genre which use abandoned locations, they help reinforce how cut off from society particular characters are. As a result of using solitary settings - seen in our opening sequence by the empty streets/office - it helps our film put across the theme of loneliness to its audience. Screen-shot of a part of our sequence showing a dark, secluded setting:

This convention is seen in 'Taken' as the setting appears quite detached/isolated from normality as its located on a construction site:

- The frequent use of close-ups/extreme close-ups in our opening sequence follow the 'Thriller' conventions because, they help viewers to understand what a character is feeling/thinking, and because these shot types focus mainly on the characters faces and portray their reactions/expressions, they allow audiences to understand a character further as they are being drawn in closer to them. However, the use of long shots/extreme long shots in our sequence help to support the idea of seclusion, as well as showing where characters are in relation to their surroundings - viewers are given lots of information by this shot type: both on the body language of characters, and their location. The camera movements of panning and tracking are used in 'Thrillers' to show more information to audiences; in our opening sequence, we use a pan to reveal the amount of blood lost from one of the characters - therefore, it portrays the violence of the genre. We also used a track - in our opening, it is seen when the camera follows the character walking - although we are following the movement of the character, this camera movement withholds information from viewers as it doesn't expose the characters face. Screen-shots of our sequence showing use of close-ups and extreme close-ups:

The frequent use of close-ups can be seen in 'Taken':

- The use of blood stained clothing seen in our sequence also follows the 'Thriller' genre conventions, as it gives audiences an insight to the amount of violence that can be seen in the film. As well as this, we wanted to generate an element of mystery, and also prompts viewers to ask questions, such as: What has happened? Who is involved? What led to the injuries? Screen-shot portraying blood-stained clothing as well as make-up:

This convention can be seen in 'Taken':


Conventions we have challenged:

- The common weapon used in the genre of 'Thrillers' is usually a knife or a gun. However, in our opening sequence the weapon we made use of was a crow-bar. We wanted to separate from the typical weapon as we wanted to break away from what is normally seen, and show a different perspective. Also, by using a crow-bar, it helps to put across to audiences the feelings of anger a character possesses, as audiences recognise that a lot of force was needed to do harm, consequently, it further reinforces the theme of violence in the film. Screen-shot showing the crow-bar used in our opening sequence:

This challenges the conventions because, in 'Taken' both a knife and gun are used as weapons:

- In our opening sequence, we go against the idea of equilibrium: a sense of normality, and instead begin on a disequilibrium: a disruption to normality. This challenges opening sequences to 'Thriller' films, as they gradually become disconnected from reality as the films develops, whereas our one would bring in this idea of unattachment as soon as the film starts. We wanted to challenge this because the opening shots of our sequence allow our audience to become suddenly caught up in the midst of it all, and it is evident that the film begins on a disequilibrium as it starts with multiple shots of abandoned streets - therefore bringing in the sense of isolation and hostility to audiences - viewers are then given slight hints to a character, and then we witness blood sprawling across the frame: 

This challenges the conventions as other films may choose to start on an equilibrium, for example: 'Taken' begins on a sense of normality; it plays a home video showing the celebration of a birthday - creating feelings of happiness and calmness, as well as a sense of family:

- Our film begins on a non-linear narrative, and because of this, it forces audiences to ask questions as soon as the film begins. We wanted to go against a linear narrative as it seems as though audiences are brought into the film quite suddenly, it immediately draws them into what has happened, and what has led to what can be seen on-screen, therefore it leads them to ask questions. As well as this, it creates elements of mystery and confusion as audiences need to comprehend the significance of the shots they are being shown at the start of the film.
Video showing the use of a flashback - indicated by the use of the transitions 'fade out' and 'fade in':

This goes against the conventions because, although 'Taken' begins by showing clips from the past, it quickly cuts back to the present, and the beginning clip does not occur later on in the film; it is there to give an insight to the audience into the characters life and his memories:

- In 'Thrillers' it is usually seen that males are strong and dominant, with females being weak and defenceless. As a result of this stereotype, our group wanted to challenge this representation and show the female character to be more powerful and intimidating, and the male character being vulnerable and powerless. We wanted to challenge the stereotype so audiences were able to get a different side to the genre, and see what the roles are like when they are reversed. The intimidating female role is seen in our sequence, but is further reinforced by the use of a low angle shot, proving her to be dominant in the sequence:

With the male character being the defenceless and weak role in our sequence; as seen by this character on the verge of death due to the actions of the female character:

This idea of sterotypes is challenged because, in 'Thrillers' it is usually the male who is the principal and powerful character, as seen by these screen-shots from 'Taken' - one showing the female to be vulnerable and dependent on the male character, and the other showing the male character to be saving the female - therefore being portrayed as strong and fearless: